Annotation:Fochaber's Rant (The)

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FOCHABER'S RANT, THE. Scottish, Reel. G Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833), whose birthplace was Fochabers in its original site in Banffshire. Fochabers is a small town in the Moray parish of Bellie, six miles from the mouth of the river Spey. It was created a burgh of Barony in 1598 and originally stood somewhat closer to the walls of Gordon Castle, however, due to improvements to the castle the whole village was removed to its present site on the River Spey in 1776. As an exercise of planned conservation, many of the buildings have remained much as they were when built 200 years ago. The design of the village was the work of John Baxter, commissioned by the fourth Duke of Gordon, and features a rectangular street plan and a square whose south side is an example of Georgian architecture. A ferry was the only means of crossing the river (unless one cared to wade across) until the Fochabers Old Bridge was opened in 1804. This structure survived until 1829 when, during a massive flood surge, the pier on the west bank collapsed and wasn't reopened for three years, and then with a wooden arch spanning the gap. This lasted for the next twenty-two years but the old bridge was eventually replaced by a three-rib arch fashioned from cast iron, the great Victorian architectural material. Marshall, employed as the Duke of Gordon's Steward at Gordon Castle, would have been very familiar with Fochabers at the time of its latter 18th century removal and re-creation, and perhaps this tune is a celebration of the event.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, p. 41.

Recorded sources:

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