Annotation:Miller of Drone (1) (The)

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MILLER OF DRONE [1], THE. AKA - "Miller of Drum." See "Cairistiona Chaimbel" and "Christy Campbell." Scottish (originally), English, Canadian; Strathspey. England, Northumberland. Canada; Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island. E Minor (Colclough, Hall & Stafford, Kennedy, Raven): F Sharp Minor (Athole, Cole, Gow, Hardie, Hunter, Kerr, Martin, Skye, Skinner, Surenne): A Minor (Carlin/Master, Honeyman, Perlman, Pringle): B Minor (Anderson). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Carlin, Cole, Gow, Hardie, Honeyman, Hunter, Martin, Perlman, Skinner, Surenne): AAB (Kennedy): AA'B (Athole, Skye): AABB (Colclough, Raven). This classic strathspey was probably composed by Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831), to whom it is often attributed, and appears in his Complete Repository, Part Second, 1802. Nathaniel's father Niel Gow is also sometimes credited with the piece (e.g. by Perlman). "The Miller of Drone" was published about 1801 by John Pringle (born c. 1770) in A Collection of Reels, Strathspey & Jigs. It has been said that Pringle also claimed authorship, and certainly "Drone" is sometimes credited to him as well, however, Alburger (1983) points out that Pringle clearly identified other tunes on the same page as his own, but did not put his name with "Drone." Although Gow published it a year later most authors seem to lean toward ascribing the tune to him, with the notable exception of the collector and Gow sceptic John Glen (1895), who called Gow's claim "doubtful." J. Scott Skinner, never one to shy from self-promotion, predicted when he published his own famous strathspey "The Miller o' Hirn" that "'The Miller o' Drone' will drone no more"--time, however, has not proven him correct. A melody with this title (perhaps version #2) is one of the "missing tunes" from William Vickers' 1770 Northumbrian dance tune manuscript.

Cape Breton fiddlers made sound recordings of the tune relatively early: Angus Allan Gillis cut it on 78 RPM in 1935 (paired with "The Yetts of Muckart"), and it has been frequently recorded by fiddlers from the island. "Cairistiona Chaimbel", or "Christy Campbell" is also a Cape Breton version. An Irish derivative is the reel "First Month of Summer (The)", and see also note for the derivative American breakdown "Annotation:Grey Eagle (1)."

Sources for notated versions: Bill Hardie (Scotland) [Hunter]; Peter Chaisson, Jr. (b. 1942, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].

Printed sources: Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 79, p. 131 (appears as "Millar of Drone"). Anderson (Anderson's Budget of Strathspeys, Reels & Country Dances), c. 1820; p. 10. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 146, p. 88. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 48. Colclough (Tutor for the Irish Union Pipes), c. 1830; p. 13. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 124. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 2, 1802; p. 25. Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1956; p. 55. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1986; pp. 26-27 (includes variations by Bill Hardie). Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; p. 18. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 144. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 125, p. 30. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), 1875; Set 30, No. 1, pg. 18. Lowe (A Collection of Reels and Strathspeys), 1844. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 2. Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; p. 15. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 197. Pringle (A Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Jigs), 1801; p. 2. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 181. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 163. Skinner (Harp and Claymore), 1904; p. 108. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 10. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; pp. 50-51.

Recorded sources: ACC-49398, Brenda Stubbert - "House Sessions" (1992). Beltona BL2128 (78 RPM), The Edinburgh Highland Reel and Strathspey Society (1936). Canadian Broadcasting Corp. NMAS 1972, Natalie MacMaster - "Fit as a Fiddle" (1993). Celtic CX 017, Dan J. Campbell. Green Linnet SIF3040, De Dannan - "Ballroom" (1987. The tune appears on the record as "The Miller of Drohan," rendered as a hornpipe. It was learned from the playing of Tara and Dermy Diamond of Belfast, though the version probably originally came from Co. Fermanagh fiddler Tommy Gunn.) Rounder 7003, John Campbell - "Cape Breton Violin Music" (1976). Rounder Records 7052, Buddy MacMaster - "The Cape Breton Tradition" (2003). "James F. Dickie's Delights" (1976).

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]
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [3]

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