Annotation:Mrs. Oswald of Auchincruive’s Strathspey (3)

Back to Mrs. Oswald of Auchincruive’s Strathspey (3)

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MRS. OSWALD OF AUCHINCRUIVE’S STRATHSPEY [3]. Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by biography:Robert Mackintosh (1745-1807), appearing in his A Third Book of Sixty-Eight New Reels and Strathspeys: Also above forty old Famous Reels (Edinburgh, 1796). There are two possible persons who he may have referred to in his title. The first was Mary Ramsay, the wife of Richard Oswald, a merchant from London and a commissioner in Paris for peace negotiations that concluded the American War of Independence. He bought the estate of Auchincruive, St. Quivox, Ayrshire, in 1764. After his death in 1784, his widow Mary remained at Auchincruive until her death in London in 1788. The estate then passed to their son, Richard Alexander Oswald, a government contractor during the American War (unimpressed, Robert Burns called him a 'plunderer of armies'). In 1793 Richard married Louisa "Lucy" Johnston (c. 1760-1797), a celebrated and accomplished beauty (for whom see note for “Miss Johnston of Hilton's Fancy”) whose portrait was painted by Sir Henry Raeburn, and for whom Robert Burns wrote a song, "O, Wat ye Wha’s in Yon Town." See note for “Miss Johnston of Hilton's Fancy” for more on Lucy Oswald. Mackintosh also composed another tune honor of Mrs. Oswald -- see "Mrs. Oswald of Auchincruives—New (2)."

Both Mary Ramsay and Lucy Johnston were composers of tunes that were published by the Gows.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: S. Johnson (A Twenty Year Anniversary Collection), 2003; p. 17.

Recorded sources:

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