Annotation:Hurricane (The)

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HURRICANE, THE. Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. From renowned Scottish fiddle-composer J. Scott Skinner's (1843-1927) Harp and Claymore collection (1904), wherein the date Nov., 17th 1893 is given. See also the original manuscript [1] that Skinner sent to his arranger, Gavin Greigg, on which is his penned note: "The wind harping fiercely on the Woodpines, but alas, 'tearing all the strings'". He directed it to be played 'loudly' and 'brilliantly'.

It is not known what hurricane Skinner was referring too, but it is likely it was the Louisiana hurricane of October, 1893, which caused the second highest toll in human life in the United States, over 2,000 souls (the later Galveston hurricane of 1900 caused even greater havoc).

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Skinner (The Scottish Violinist), 1900; p. 5 (with variations). Skinner (Harp and Claymore), 1904; p. 112.

Recorded sources: Flying Fish FF-299, The Battlefield Band - "There's a Buzz" (1982). Philo FI 2018, "Jean Carignan Plays the Music of Coleman, Morrison & Skinner."

See also listings at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [2]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [3]




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