Annotation:Haughs of Cromdale (The)

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HAUGHS O' CROMDALE, THE. AKA and see "Barrack Hill (1)," "Lady Catherine Stewart/Lady Catherine Stuart," "Merry Maids Meeting," "Merry Maid's Wedding," "New Killiecrankie," "O'Neill's March (2)," "Scotch Mist (3)," "Sid mar chaidh n' Cal a gholaigh" (That is How the Cabbage Was Boiled), "Spilling of the Kale (The)," "Tralee Gaol," "Wat Ye how the Play Began." Scottish, Canadian; Strathspey, Air, March or Polka. Canada; Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island. E Minor/Dorian (Dunlay & Greenberg/MacMaster, Martin, Perlman): A Mixolydian (Cumming): A Dorian (Dunlay & Greenberg/Campbell): D Minor (Lowe, Surenne). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Surenne): AAB (Honeyman): AABB (Most versions): AA'BB' (Dunlay & Greenberg/Campbell). 'Haughs' are the low-lying ground along a river, in this case near Cromdale in Speyside. The melody is an example of a strathspey of the schottische structure, states Emmerson (1971); two accents to the bar {on the first and third beats of the measure} instead of one. Dunlay & Greenberg point out there are two main strains of the tune: both have similar 'A' parts, but the 'B' parts differ, one beginning on the tonic/I chord and one beginning on the VII chord. They speculate that the tune originally had only one part, as many ballads did, but that differing second turns were added to it later. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune in Angus Cumming's 1780 Scottish collection (A Collection of Strathspeys or Old Highland Reels, p. 15), though it also appeared in print the same year in Alexander McGlashan's Collection of Reels as "Merry Maid's Wedding." Creighton and Calum MacLeod (1979) find it earlier in Scotland in the Margaret Sinclair Manuscript (c. 1710) under the title "New Killiecrankie," and Dunlay and Greenberg report it was said to be in an older manuscript under the title "Wat ye how the play began."

A Scottish country dance also goes by the name of "Haughs of Cromdale," one of the relatively few that go in strathspey tempo. Flett and Flett (1964) date the dance from sometime after 1855, the date of the introduction of the Highland Schottische, for Haughs incorporates the Highland Schottische's movements. In the Dalbeattie district of Kirkcudbrightshire before 1914 the dance was very popular, according to an informant (Mrs. Margaret Patterson of Auchencairn) who danced it as a young girl. Mrs. Patterson remembered the dance always was accompanied by a briskly played schottische such as "Kafoozalum," "Orange and Blue" or "Wha's a' the steer, kimmer." The tune long predates the dance, first being published by James Oswald in his Caledonian Pocket Companion (c. 1740) under the title "Wat Ye How the Play Began". The first appearance of the tune under the 'Haughs' ("The Haws of Cromdale") is in John Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum. (1797, pp. 502-503).

Cromdale is a district in Strathspey, site of the battle of the Haughs of Cromdale in the 17th century. During the battle a piper in the routed Jacobite army under the inept General Buchan bravely attempted to rally his comrades. Though badly wounded, he clambered atop a rock and continued to play until he expired; the very rock can be seen today and is still named Clach a Phíobair, the Piper's Stone (Collinson, 1975). Perhaps in memory of this feat of bravery, "Haughs of Cromdale" was one of the pipe tunes played by the British 92nd Regiment at the battle of Maya, 1813, which served to so inflame the Highlanders that they charged the French, who became so panic stricken at their audacity that they turned and ran (Winstock, 1970; p. 139). David Glen (in his bagpipe Tutor) states the tune was the "charge and double post of the Gordon Highlanders." Dunlay & Greenberg find the tune set as both a march and a strathspey in various bagpipe collections, including Logan's Complete Tutor for the Bagpipes and The Scots Guards Collection (set as a four-part march).

As with many popular British Isles tunes, there were various sets of words attached to it. "As I came in by Auchindown" is one common ballad sung to the air (which tells of a battle with the English on the haughs) and can be found in James Hogg's Jacobite Relics of Scotland (vol. 1, 1819). "Birnie-Bouzle" is another song set to "Haughs". In Cape Breton there was a Gaelic song entitled "Sid mar chaidh an cal a dholaigh" (That is How the Kale/Cabbage Was Ruined/Spoiled) that tells the amusing story of a meeting between Scottish Highlanders and Lowlanders at an inn and how the kale broth was ruined while the lady of the house was dancing (Dunlay & Greenberg). Bayard identifies this as one of the tunes from the large "Welcome Home" tune family. See "Cape North Jig" for a 6/8 time setting of "Haughs," and the A Dorian Irish variant "Tralee Gaol/O'Neill's March (2)."

Sources for notated versions: John Campbell (Cape Breton) [Dunlay & Greenberg]; Kevin Chaisson (b. 1950, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].

Printed sources: Cumming (Collection of Strathspey or Old Highland Reels), 1780; No. 45, p. 15. Dunlay & Greenberg (Traditional Celtic Violin Music of Cape Breton), 1996; pp. 36 & 85. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), 1971; No. 65, p. 153. David Glen (Bagpipe Tutor), 1876-1901 (two settings). Gow (Beauties of Niel Gow), 1819. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; p. 14. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; Set 7, No. 1, p. 6. Lowe (A Collection of Reels and Strathspeys), 1844. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 85. MacDonald (The Gesto Collection). Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; p. 11. Middleton's, 1870. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 198. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 249. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; pp. 112-113. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1816; p. 37.

Recorded sources: ACC-49290, Natalie MacMaster - "Road to the Isle." ACC-4925, Tara Lynne Touesnard - "Heritage." Kicking Mule KM-327, "Scartaglen" (1984. Played as a march). RCC-102, Ian McKinnon & Rawlins Cross - "Crossing the Border" (1991). RMD-CAS1, Rodney MacDonald - "Dancer's Delight" (1995). Rounder 7003, John Campbell - "Cape Breton Violin Music"(1976. Appears as "Traditional Strathspey," side two). Smithsonian Folkways Records, SFW CD 40507, The Beaton Family of Mabou - "Cape Breton Fiddle and Piano Music" (2004).

See also listings at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index (E dorian version) [1]
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index (A dorian version) [2]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [3]

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