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Annotation:Four and Twenty Highlandmen (1)
X:1 T:Four and Twenty Highlandmen [1] M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel B:David Young - The Drummond Castle Manuscript, Part 2 (1734, No. 45) B:https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/musicfiles/manuscripts/drummond2.pdf Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:Amix g|eA A/A/A edBg|eA A/A/A GABd|eA e/e/e edBg|egdB A/A/A A:| |:g|edeg abag|dgdB dgdB|edeg a/g/f/e/ gd|eBgB A/A/A A:|]
FOUR AND TWENTY HIGHLANDMEN [1]. AKA and see "Breach of Killiecranky (The)," "Haughs of Cromdale (The)," "Lord Kingarth," "Merry Maid's Wedding," "Wat Ye how the Play Began." Scottish, Reel (cut time). A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody appears in the Drummond Castle Manuscript (1734, No. 45), inscribed "A Collection of the best Highland Reels written by David Young, W.M. & Accomptant." The MS, in the possession of the Earl of Ancaster at Drummond Castle, is sometimes called the "Duke of Perth MS" after its dedicatee. Edinburgh fiddler and writing master Young also entered the tune into his subsequent MacFarlane Manuscript (c. 1741, p. 229), compiled for his patron at the time, Walter MacFarlan of MacFarlane. The reel also appears in the James Knox Manuscript under the title "Killiecrankie" (No. 87, p. f. 26) (see "Killiecranky (4)"). The first strain is shared with the "Haughs of Cromdale (The)" tune family, but the second differs.
There are a few tunes by the name of "Four and Twenty Highlandmen." One such was the vehicle for a song in the ballad opera Devil to Pay (1731). There are also a large number of variant tunes and a myriad of titles. See note for "annotation:Haughs of Cromdale (The)" for more information.
