Annotation:Mrs. Grant of Laggan’s Strathspey

Back to Mrs. Grant of Laggan’s Strathspey

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MRS. GRANT OF LAGGAN. AKA and see "Miss Lyall (1).” Scottish, Strathspey. A Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Kerr): ABC (Tolman). The celebrated Mrs. Ann Grant of Laggan (1755-1838) lived in Strathspey most of her life and leaves us something of herself and Highland life in her Poems and Memoirs of a Highland Lady. In this excerpt (quoted by Emmerson, 1972) she refers to the fashionable attendees, aping "with air constrained, the rural balls!"

The nymph that wont to trace the source of Tay,
Or lead the sprightly dance by rapid Spey,
With conscious triumph smiles aside to see,
This 'faint reflection of the rural glee.'
While polish'd courtiers pant in active reels.

Gow (1817) says the tune was “Communicated by Captain (Simon) Fraser of Knocky,” editor of the important Fraser Collection of Highland airs and melodies. The strathspey is sometimes attributed to Fraser, but David Baptie (Musical Scotland, 1894) says this is wrong and that "it is said to be one of Archie Allan's" (p. 57).

The first strain of "Mrs. Grant of Laggan" is shared with "Miss Lyall (1)." See also the County Donegal variant “Old Cameronian (The)" and the Irish variant “Paddy Ryan's Dream (1).”

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Gow (Complete Repository), Part 4, 1817; p. 26. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 4), c. 1880's; No. 139, p. 17. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), 1969; p. 19.

Recorded sources:

See also listing at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Index [1]

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