Annotation:Duke of Buccleuch (1) (The)
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DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH [1], THE. Scottish, Reel. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833). The tune shares a first strain resemblance with such others as "Carolan's Cup," "The Miller's Maid," and "Patie's Mill" (see), though Bayard (1981) believes it may only be coincidence. Sir Henry Scott, 1746-1812, the 3rd Duke of Buccleugh, not only became the 3rd Duke of Grafton at the tender age of four but also later inherited through his mother, the title and lands of the Duke of Queensbury, after his cousin died without issue in 1810. In recognition of this inheritance Henry adopted the surname of Douglas-Scott but also went one better, as through his marriage to Elizabeth Montagu in 1767 the family ended up with further share of the Montagu estates in England including the rather impressive Boughton House. The Duke and Duchess were evidently supporters of Scottish music, for he had his children tutored by none other than the famous band-leader and music publisher Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831), a contemporary of Marshall's. Gow was much in demand at the height of his career as a performer and teacher, and he charged all the market would bear for tuition. The Duke of Buccleugh had him travel once a week to the palace at Dalkeith, some six miles from Edinburgh, for which Gow charged him the (then astonishing) sum of two guineas plus travel expenses. At one point the Duke wrote to Nathaniel with the suggestion-"I wish that at your leisure you would compose (start not, gentle misses!] a reel according to the old style. It should be wild, such as your father would have liked-highland,---call it "the Border Raid." There is no evidence that Gow did compose a tune by that name, however. In 1810 Nathaniel Gow's Annual Ball was held in the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh on 13 March and the list of ten 'patrons and directors' included 'Her Grace the Duchess of Buccleuch' and numerous Countesses and Right Hon. Ladies.
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1845 Collection, p. 1.
Recorded sources: