Annotation:Muschats Cairn

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MUSCHATS CAIRN. Scottish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by James Porteous, Applegarth, Dumfriesshire (c. 1762-1847). According to the Scottish Music Index [1] Porteous received some tutilage from Nathaniel gow in Edinburgh, and was on cordial terms with Niel Gow (an elderly man at the time). He returned to Dumfriesshire to work as a miller and farmer at Knockhill Mill, Hoddam, and acquired the sobriquet "The Musical Miller of Annadale." He is said to have been sociable and kindly. In 1820 he published a collection of his compositions (strathspeys, reels and jigs). "Mysteriously," notes the Scottish Music Index, "a second edition, published a year after the first contains the same music but with an almost complete set of new titles. No explanation for this has so far been suggested."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 102.

Recorded sources:

See also listing at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Index [2]

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