Annotation:Lord George Gordon's Reel
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LORD GEORGE GORDON'S REEL. AKA and see "Miss L. Stewart of the Island of Java." Scottish, Reel. C Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by Biography:William Marshall (1748-1833), first appearing in print in his 1781 collection (p. 1). Marshall later reworked the tune with a different second strain, and retitled it "Miss L. Stewart of the Island of Java".
Lord George was the brother of Marshall's patron and employer, Alexander, the 4th Duke of Gordon, for whom he worked as Steward of the Household. Moyra Cowie (Life and Times of William Marshall, 1999) records that George was a fervent anti-Catholic who once was arrested in London for his leadership in the Gordon riots. He was imprisoned for a time in the famous Tower of London but was acquitted after a trial. No slave to popular fashion, George was instantly recognizable in his time for his habit of wearing tartan trews and never wearing a wig. He reportedly learned to speak Gaelic and to play the pipes while living in Skye. The tune is not related to the Irish "Lord Gordon's."
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1781 Collection, p. 1.
Recorded sources:
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