Annotation:Duchess of Buccleugh's Reel (3) (The)

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X:1 T:Dutches of Buccleughs Reel, The T:Duchess of Buccleugh's Reel [3], The C:William Borrowman, "Teacher of Dancing Edin.r. M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel B:Issued on a single sheet, c. 1800, with "Lady Stopfoord's Reel" and B:"Lady Elizabeth Montagu's Jigg." Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:C c|ECEG cBAG|EC ce dDDF|ECEG cBAG|A/B/c B/c/d cCC:| f|egcg a/g/f ec|dfec Bddf|ecgc acgc|fdgf eccf| egcg acec|gcec Bddf|ecBc GcEc|Aagf ec c||

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The Duchess of Buccleuch by Thomas Gainsborough, c. 1767.

DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUGH'S REEL [3], THE. Scottish, Reel (cut time). C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. "Duchess of Buccleugh's Reel [3]" was composed by William Borrowman, about whom nothing is known, save that he identified himself as a "teacher of dancing" in Edinburgh. He may have been trying to establish himself with his two separate issues of printed single-sheets, each with three tunes with titles connected to the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. However, he either was unsuccessful, or perhaps died, as there is no record of him as dancing master in that city. Every single one of his tunes is in the key of 'C' major. Borrowman's "Duchess of Buccleugh's Reel [3]" is close to, and probably cognate with, "Miss Isabella Murdoch's Reel," published in Glasgow by James Aird in 1796.

The three tunes on the sheet, "Lady Elizabeth Montagu's Jigg," "Lady Stopford's Reel (2)" and "Duchess of Buccleugh's Reel (3) (The)" are probably for three women related to one another. Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch married Lady Elizabeth Montagu (see Wikipedia:Elizabeth_Scott,_Duchess_of_Buccleuch_(1743–1827)) in 1767, and had a three daughters (and two sons who survived to adulthood). Much of the family's lands and wealth were accumulated during Henry's tenure as Duke. He integrated the surnames "Montagu" and "Douglas" with the Scott family name to form the unhyphenated compound surname "Montagu Douglas Scott". Borrowman's "Duchess of Buccleugh's Reel (3) (The)" was composed for Henry's wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Montagu. "Lady Stopford's Reel (2)" is for their daughter, Lady Mary Scott (1769-1823) who married James Stopford, 3rd Earl of Courtown. "Lady Elizabeth Monagu" is probably the eldest daughter, Lady Elizabeth Scott, who married Alexander Home, 10th Earl of Home, in November, 1798 (Borrowman issued another three-tune sheet with Buccleuch titles, including "Lady Caroline Montague's Jig", probably referring to Lady Caroline Scott (1774–1854), who married Charles Douglas, 6th Marquess of Queensberry.

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