Annotation:Boanie Isle o' Whalsay (1) (Da)

Back to Boanie Isle o' Whalsay (1) (Da)

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BOANIE ISLE O' WHALSAY [1], DA. AKA and see "Qualsay." Shetland, Shetland Reel. A Mixolydian/A Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCC. Whalsay is one of the islands in the Shetland group. The tune is known throughout the Shetlands and is generally played as a reel today, though there have been 6/8 versions in the past (see "Boanie Isle o' Whalsay (2) (Da)"). In the 1950's "at least one fiddler, the late Jimmy Scollay of Burravoe, played it in 6/8 time, his version being noted down by Shuldham-Shaw in the key of G" (Cooke, 1986). Cooke's 'b' version (Qualsay) is from J. Hoseason's MS., Mid Yell (Shetland), 1863. Tom Anderson (1979) remarked: "Some say dis wis taen frae Greensleeves, an auld English tün. Hoo-som-ever, he's been played in Shetland a lang time."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Anderson (Haand Me Down da Fiddle), 1979; No. 16. Cooke (The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles), 1986; Ex. 27b., p. 77.

Recorded sources:

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