Annotation:Mrs. Hamilton of Pincaitland's Strathspey

Back to Mrs. Hamilton of Pincaitland's Strathspey

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MRS. HAMILTON OF PINCAITLAND/PENCAITLAND. Scottish, Slow Strathspey or Air. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Composed by Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831). In the Gow’s 3rd Collection there are two extra parts “meant for the Piano Forte only,” actually variations on the first two parts. The title honors Janet Dundas (1764-1810), wife of Colonel John Hamilton of Pencaitland (1751-1804), who was colonel of the East Lothian Fencibles, a regiment who exercised their horses on his estate of Winton, although the Hamiltons resided at nearby Pencaitland House. The couple, who married in 1782, probably intended to inhabit a manor called Winton House, which was enlarged by Hamilton with the help of a local architect, John Paterson, with neo-gothic additions on the north and west sides. Janet was a member of the ruling political family from the nearby estate of Arniston, and was the daughter of the second Lord President Arniston. See also another tune for the family, “Miss Hamilton of Pencaitland.”

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 181. Gow (Third Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1792; p. 14 (3rd ed.). Hinds/Hebert (Grumbling Old Woman), 1981; p. 33 (appears as "Mrs. Hamilton of Pencaitland"). Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 4 (appears as "Mrs. Hamilton of Pencaitland").

Recorded sources: Canadian Columbia GES90343, John Allan Cameron "Weddings, Wakes, and Other Things."

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

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