Annotation:Honorable James Ramsay's Reel (The)

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HONORABLE JAMES RAMSAY'S REEL, THE. AKA and see "Fair Wind to Greenland (A)." Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The reel was composed by Niel Gow Jr. (c. 1795–1823), the son of Nathaniel Gow (1763–1831) and grandson of Niel Gow (1727–1807). Niel Jr. was a physician and a talented amateur musician and composer, but died young. His collection was published posthumously, in 1837. A somewhat simplified version was printed by James Kerr in the latter half of the century under the title "Fair Wind to Greenland (A)." See also "Lady Down", which has a similar melodic and harmonic contour.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Gatherer (Gatherer's Musical Museum), 1987; p. 6. Gow (Collection of Airs, Reels & Strathspeys), 1837; p. 2.

Recorded sources:




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