Annotation:Fife Hunt (The)
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FIFE HUNT, THE. AKA and see "Moonlight Ramble (1) (A)." Scottish, Reel. C Major (Gow): D Major (Aird). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Surenne): AAB (Athole, Gow, Kerr): AABB (Aird, Honeyman, White). The name Fife derives from the name of an ancient ruler, Fib, who, as one of seven sons of a legendary Pictish king, inherited the region. The Fife Hunt has a long history as a social organization for hunting, breeding of hounds, support of sporting events, and "convivial gatherings" such as the Fife Hunt Ball.
The reel was composed by renowned Scots fiddler-composer Niel Gow's eldest son, William (1751-1791), who was leader of the Edinburgh Assembly Orchestra until his death. "Fife Hunt" belongs, according to Bayard (1981), to a large and nebulous family group of tunes which includes "Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad" (Scot), "Drunken Hiccups (1)" (USA), "Such a Gittin' Upstairs" (USA), and others. It was used by Lady Nairne for her song "The Fife Laird." One of the oddest (and perhaps first) sound recording of "Fife Hunt" is on the barrel organ from the polar expedition of Admiral Parry of 1810. In place of a ship's fiddler (a common complement to a crew in those days), Parry introduced a mechanical barrel organ on board ship to provide entertainment and a vehicle to which the men could exercise (i.e. by dancing). "Fife Hunt" was one of eight tunes on barrel no. 5.
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Aird (Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs), vol. 3, 1788; No. 408, p. 157. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 253. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 45. Gow (First Collection of Niel Gow's Reels), 1784 (revised 1801); p. 9. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; p. 16. Jones [Ed.] (Complete Tutor Violin), c. 1815; p. 7. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1; Set 23, No. 2, p. 14. Preston (Preston's Twenty-Four Country Dances for the Year 1793). Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 74. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 72. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; p. 18. White's Unique Collection, 1896; No. 44, p. 8. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1816; p. 50.
Recorded sources: Saydisc SDL 234, Parry's Barrel Organ (vol. 11 of the Golden Age of Mechanical Music). Smithsonian Folkways Records, SFW CD 40507, The Beaton Family of Mabou - "Cape Breton Fiddle and Piano Music" (2004). WMT002, Wendy MacIsaac - "That's What You Get" (1998?).
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]
Hear Albert Gerson's c. 1919 recording at Virtual Gramophone [3] (2nd tune in medley of reels)
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