Comely Garden

COMELY GARDEN. Scottish (originally), English; Reel and Country Dance. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. One of the most celebrated compositions by Donald (sometimes Daniel) Dow (1732-83) originally of Kirkmichael, Perthshire. John Glen (1891) believes the earliest printing of the tune in Daniel Dow's c. 1775 collection (p. 10), although it had appeared earlier in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth (1768). It is one of the "missing tunes" from William Vickers' 1770 Northumbrian dance tune manuscript and was also later published by the Gows. In the opinion of Mr. Troup of Ballater (as cited by David Baptie in Musical Scotland, Past and Present, 1894, p. 46) "Comely Garden" is among the dozen or so of Dow's best compositions. The tune (as "Camley Garden") was printed with country dance directions in Preston's 1793 collection.

Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 410. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 3, 1806; p. 24. Köhlers’ Violin Repository, Book 2, 1881-1885, p. 119. Preston (Preston's Twenty-Four Country Dances for the Year 1793). Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 13.

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X:1
T:Camley Garden
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Country Dance
B:Preston's Twenty-Four Country Dances for the Year 1794
Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion
K:Amix
e|cA c/d/e a2 ag|fd g2 B G2B|cA c/d/e a2 eg|dgBd eA A:|
|:e|c/B/A eA c e2a|gdBG Bd2e|c/B/A eA c e2g|dgBd eA2e|
c/B/A eA c e2a|gdBG Bd2e|c/B/A ae fdgd|BGBd eA A:|]

X:1
T:Comely Garden
M:C|
L:1/8
S:Reel
B:Stewart-Robertson - The Athole Collection  (1884)
Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion
K:A
e|cA c/d/e a2 (e=g)|fd =g2 B=GGB|cA c/d/e a2 (e=g)|d=gBd eA A:|
e|c/B/A eA dee>a|=gdB=G Bdd>e|c/B/A e>A cee=g|d=gBd eAAe|
c/B/A e>A cee>a|=gdB=G Bdd>e|c/B/A ae fd=gd|B=GBd eAA||

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