Annotation:Sweetness of Mary (The)
X:1 T:Sweetness of Mary, The C:Joan MacDonald Boes S:Aly Bain (from a TV programme) Z:Nigel Gatherer R:strathspey M:4/4 L:1/16 K:A E2A3B |: c4 c2BA F4 F2AB | ce3^df3 e4 e2fg |a3gf3e e3dc3d |ef3 c2A2 B4 A3B | c4 c2BA F4 F2AB | ce3^df3 e4 e2fg |a3gf3e e3dc3d |1 ea3cB3 A3EA3B :|2 ea3cB3 A4 || a3b | c'3eac'3 b3egb3 | a3gfa3 e8 | f3ed3f e3dc3d |ea3 cA3 B4 a3b | c'3eac'3 b3egb3 | a3gfa3 e8 | f3ed3f ea3c3d | ea3 cB3 A4 :|]
SWEETNESS OF MARY, THE. Canadian; March, Air or Slow Strathspey. Canada; Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA’BB’. Composed by Joan MacDonald Boes (d. 1998), who was born in Foot Cape, Inverness County, Cape Breton, but moved to Detroit, Michigan, as a young woman, some say to study jazz piano. She played piano for the Detroit-based The Five MacDonald Fiddlers on many of their 1960's recordings (the group included the famous Cape Breton composer Dan R. MacDonald, Joan's brother Allen MacDonald, along with John, Hugh, Bernie - all MacDonalds!). "Sweetness of Mary" was composed by her in honor of St. Mary. It has become popular at Scottish, and lately, even English sessions, in part from its inclusion in the repertoire of the English Country Dance Band (Stroud, Gloucestershire). The Gaelic language Cape Breton newspaper Am Braighe also published a version of the tune.
