Annotation:Braes of Auchtertyre (1)

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BRAES OF AUCHTERTYRE [1]. AKA and see "Braes of Auchentyre," "Belles of Tipperary (1)," "Beaus of Albany (1)," "Music Club (The)," "New Policeman (1) (The)." See "Billy in the Lowground (1)." Scotland; Reel, Strathspey. C Major (most versions): D Major (Aird, Kennedy). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Alburger, Cole, Gow, Kennedy, Kerr, Skye, Athole): AABB (Aird, Cranford, Perlman). Auchtertyre lies midway between Dornie and Kyle on the northern shore of Loch Alsh, Scotland. This popular tune was first published by Neil Stewart (Collection of the Newest and Best Reels and Country Dances, c. 1761, p. 45) and later transposed to the key of 'A' and played as a strathspey. Glen (1891) finds it printed about the same time in Joshua Campbell's 1778 collection (p. 4). The melody is sometimes credited to James Crocket, but evidence for this ascription is wanting according to some reviewers. The tune appears to have developed from a slow 3/4 time Lowland Scots song tune called "O Dear Minnie/Mother (What Shall I Do)?" Toward the end of the 18th century "Braes of Auchtertyre" was composed from it, and it in turn became the direct ancestor of the American 'old-time' tune "Billy in the Lowground/Low Lands." Jack Campin opines that at the time "Braes" was fashioned from the "Minnie" song (although Gow thought it the other-way-round), the laird of Auchtertyre was wealthy and well-connected—the kind of influential personage and estate that attracted labeling and re-labeling of music.

Ken Perlman's Prince Edward Island-collected version is somewhat distanced from the usual printed versions. The tune is popular on Cape Breton Island, where it was recorded by Scotty Fitzgerald in the 1930's. Many Cape Breton fiddlers follow the lead of Angus Chisholm and precede "Braes of Auchtertyre" with the strathspey "Rothiemurchus Rant." Irish derivatives of the melody are, among others, the "Music Club (The)," "Belles of Tipperary (1)," "Connaught Lasses" and "Miss Monaghan’s Reel."

Source for notated version: George MacPhee (b. 1941, Monticello, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].

Printed sources: Aird (Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 2), 1785; No. 146, p. 54 (appears as "The Braes of Aughtertyre"). Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 37, p. 60. Joshua Campbell (A Collection of New Reels & Highland Strathspeys), Glasgow, 1789; p. 36. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 42 (version, somewhat altered, appears as "Braes of Auchentyre"). Cranford (Jerry Holland's Collection of Fiddle Tunes), 1995; No. 74, p. 22. Gow (Complete Repository, Part 1), 1799; p. 20. Kennedy (Fiddler's Tune-Book: Reels & Rants, Flings & Fancies), 1997; No. 12, p. 5. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; Set 23, No. 1, p. 14 (strathspey). Lowe (Lowe's Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Jigs, book 3), 1844–1845; p. 11. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 106. Milne (Middleton's Selection of Strathspeys, Reels, &c. for the Violin), c. 1882; p. 1. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 119. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 68. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 62. Vallely (Play 50 Reels with Armagh Pipers Club), 1982; no. 40, p. 19 (as "The New Policeman"). Wilson (A Companion to the Ballroom), 1816; p. 49.

Recorded sources: Topic, James Dickie – "James F. Dickie's Delights" (1976). Shanachie 14001, "The Early Recordings of Angus Chisholm." WMT002, Wendy MacIsaac – "That's What You Get" (1998?).

See also listings at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]

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