Annotation:Ferrie Reel

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FERRIE REEL (Fairy Reel). AKA - "Faery Reel," "Ferry Reel." Shetland, Reel. Shetland, Island of Yell. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A traditional Shetland reel, part of the Yell Reels set. According to Tom Anderson (1978) the tune was one of the Yell tunes that were revived and played by Bobbie Jamieson and Willie Barclay Henderson. He identifies it as a trowie (troll) tune which tradition has it as heard emanating from a hole in the ground by a fiddler returning from performing at a wedding. The second strain has similarities to Gow's "Largo's Fairy Dance" (also sometimes called "Fairy Reel (1) (The)" or "Fairy Dance"), which may account for the "Faery" title. The melody is one of the tunes in the traditional Yell Reels set, which includes "Ferrie Reel," "Lay Dee at Dee (1)," and "Miss Spence's Reel."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Anderson & Swing (Haand Me Doon da Fiddle), 1979. Bain (50 Fiddle Solos), 1989; p. 26 (appears as "Faery Reel"). Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 112, p. 73.

Recorded sources: Topic 12TS379, Aly Bain & Tom Anderson - "Shetland Folk Fiddling, vol. 2" (1978).

See also listing at:
Hear the tune played in a 1954 recording by Peter Scollay (fiddle), Lowrie Scollay (guitar) and Alice Manuell (accordion) at Tobar an Dualchais [1]

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