Annotation:Lord Breadalbane's March

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X:1 T:Lord Bradalban's march T:Boddich na mbrigs M:6/8 L:1/8 R:March N:"Slow" N:"End's with the two first Parts." B:Daniel Dow - A Collection of Ancient Scots Music (1775, p. 32) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D A>BA Tf>ed|B>AB {e}d>BG|{e}A>BA {g}Tf>ed|{e}A>ee Te2d| {e}A>BA {g}f>ed|e>dB {e}d>BG|{e}A>BA Tf>ed|{e}A>e/2f/4e Te2d:| |:e>fe a>fe|Tf>ef Tf>ed|e>fe a>fd|e>fe Te2d| e<fe a<fe|f<ef {g}Tfed|a>fe f>ed|{e}A>ee Te2d:| "Quicker" e>AA Tf>AA|B>AA {e}d>GG|A>BA Tf>AA|B>AA e>AA| d>AA f>AA|B>AA {e}d>GG|A>BA f>AA|TB>AA Te2d:| |:e>AA a>AA|f>AA f>AA|eAA a>AA|f>AA Tf2d| e>AA a>AA|f>AA e>AA|a>AA f>AA|d>AA Te2d:| e(A/B/A) f(A/B/A)|TB(A/B/A) {e}d(G/A/G)|A(A/B/A) f(A/B/A/)|TB(A/B/A/) e(A/B/A)| d(A/B/A) f(A/B/A)|TB(A/B/A) {e}d(G/A/G)|A(A/B/A) f(A/B/A)|TB(A/B/A) e2d:| |:e(A/B/A) a(A/B/A)|f(A/B/A) f(A/B/A)|e(A/B/A) a(A/B/A)|f(A/B/A) e(A/B/A)| d(A/B/A) a(A/B/A)|f(A/B/A) e(A/B/A)|a(A/B/A) f(A/B/A)|d>Af Te2d:| |:eA/A/A/A/ fA/A/A/A/|BA/A/A/A/ {e}dGG/G/G/G/|AA/A/A/A/ fA/A/A/A/| TBA/A/A/A/ eA/A/A/A/|dA/A/A/A/ fA/A/A/A/|TBA/A/A/A/ {e}dG/G/G/G/| AA/A/A/A/ fA/A/A/A/|BA/A/A/A/ e2d::eA/A/A/A/ aA/A/A/A/|fA/A/A/A/ fA/A/A/A/| eA/A/A/A/ aA/A/A/A/|fA/A/A/A/ eA/A/A/A/|dA/A/A/A/ aA/A/A/A/| fA/A/A/A/ eA/A/A/A/|aA/A/A/A/ fA/A/A/A/|dA/A/A/A/ e2d:||



LORD BREADALBANE'S MARCH. AKA – "Boddick na mBrigs," "Boddich n'am Brigis," "Lone Vale (The)," "People of this Glen Awake!." Scottish, Slow (Pipe) March (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (McLachlan): AABBCD (Dow). A pipe march or pibroch, composed without the interval of a fourth or seventh, and ending on the second of the scale, creating a 'never-ending' feeling. David Murry, in his book Music of the Scottish Regiments (Edinburgh, 1994), notes this tune is said to have been played to turn the soldiers of the Highland regiments out in the early hours of the morning of Quatre Bras (1815), the name of the battle that was a prelude to the climactic struggle at Waterloo. Murray states it is "the tune of a song from Strathspey in the Central Highlands. 'People of this Glen, Awake!', the song begins, and goes on to warn that James Grand of Carron on Speyside, a notorious ruffian and reiver, has been seen in the glen with his henchmen. 'People of this Glen' is also said to have been played in the gloaming of the winter's evening before the massacre of Glencoe in February 1692, in a last-minute attempt to warn the people of the treacherous attack that was planned for the next morning. It was played by Hugh MacKenzie, piper to Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, who commanded the soldiers of the Earl of Argyll's Regiment who carried out the massacre. The tune, and its connotations, would be well known to the Highland soldiers of the Black Watch, the 79th and the 92nd who heard it in the first light of that June morning" (p. 106).

"Lord Breadalbane's March", or "Boddich n'am Brigis" was first printed by Biography:Daniel Dow (1732–1783) in his Ancient Scots Music (Edinburgh, c. 1778). The tune was also issued on a single sheet by Neil Stewart & Co. (Edinburgh, n.d., but c. 1795) with "Boddick na mbrigs" given as an alternate title. Early printings include Donald MacDonald's A Collection of the Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia, called Piobaireachd As performed on the Great Highland Bagpipe (Edinburgh, c. 1822, pp. 102–105), The Inverness Collection of Highland Pibrochs, Laments, Quicksteps and Marches (Inverness & Aberdeen, n.d.), Edinburgh Repository of Music Containing the Most Select English, Scottish & Irish Airs, Reels, Strathspeys, etc. (Edinburgh, c. 1818–25, 1, 93), and in Eight Cotillons & Six Country Dances for the Year 1789 (J. Platts, Musci Seller, London).

"Lord Breadalbane's March" is the air to which the song "Low sweet this lone vale" is set in The Scots Musical Museum, VI (1803, No. 569, p. 588), as was Burns's song "O merry hea I been teethin a heckle" (SMM, III, 1790, No. 270, p. 279). Hogg suggested "Lord Breadalbane's March or "Paddy O'Rafferty" for his song "Lucy's Flittin." . The first strain of the tune appears in the Gows' Complete Repository, Part 3 (1806) as "Lone Vale (The)", although the second strains differ. The Scots Gaelic song "Mhnàthan A'ghlinne So"[1] (Wives of this glen, 'tis time to rise) is set to a version of "Lord Breadalbane's March," about the Massacre of Glencoe. Vocal settings of the tune can also be found as "Baddich na brigan" in Smith's Scottish Minstrel and in John Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, vol. vi (1803, No. 569, p. 588) as "How sweet in this lone vale" ("set to a favourite Gaelic Melody"). \


Additional notes



Printed sources : - Dow (A Collection of Ancient Scots Music), c. 1775; p. 32. Glen (David Glen's Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music, Book 9) [1], p. 13. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; No. 16, p. 48. John McLachlan (Piper’s Assistant), 1854; No. 53, p. 30.






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  1. Broadwood et al - Journal of the Folk-Song Society, vol. 8, No. 35, Dec., 1931, p. 291.