Annotation:Birks of Abergeldie (The)
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BIRKS OF ABERGELDIE. AKA and see "Bonnie Lassie Will You Go," "Cast a Bell," "De'els Dead (The)." AKA - "Berks of Abergelde," "Birks of Aberfeldy." Scottish, Strathspey. D Major (Kerr, Neil): F Major (Athole, Bremner, Gow): G Major (Howe, Jones, Kennedy, O'Farrell). Standard tuning (fiddle). One part (Howe): AAB (Athole, Gow, Jones, O'Farrell): AABB (Bremner, Kennedy, Kerr, Neil). The usual meaning of the Scots word birk is of a birch tree, or a small wood of birch trees. In this case, the 'birks of Abergeldie' (or Aberfeldie) is a placename in Perthshire, Scotland. The tune appears in a notebook of six pages of country dances called the Holmain Manuscript (1710-50) and in Walsh's Third Book of the Compleat Country Dancing-Master (1735). Somewhat later it appears in Bremner's 1757 collection (p. 35), the Caledonian Pocket Companion of 1760, and the Gillespie Manuscript (1768). Neil (1991), however, remarks that the melody first appears in John Playford's Dancing Master of 1657 under the title "Scotch Ayre (A)" (it also appears in later editions). It was later republished by Henry Playford in his 1700 collection of Scottish dance tunes under the title "Berks of Abergelde (The)." As with many fashionable tunes it attracted other titles: London publishers Charles and Samuel Thompson included it in their Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2 (1765) under the title "De'els Dead (The);" it was printed by Wright in his Compleat Collection of Celebrated Country Dances (1740) as both "Berks of Abergelde" and "Cast a Bell"; and as "Bonnie Lassie Will You Go" in the Scots Musical Museum, vol. 2 (1788).
Poet Robert Burns set lyrics to the melody inspired while standing under the Falls of Moness on a 1787 Highlands excursion with his friend William Nicol. The classical composer Franz Joseph Haydn fashioned an arrangement of the tune, although Purser (1992) is of the opinion that his effort fails, as do those of other non-Scottish classical composers of the time who try to set Scottish music: "...it seems that they gild lillies with great skill, intrusive harmonies, and foolishly fussy harpsichord accompaniment."
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Aird (A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs), vol. III, 1788; No. 429, p. 166. Anderson (Anderson's Budget of Strathspeys, Reels & Country Dances), c. 1820; p. 13. Bremner (Scots Reels), c. 1757; p. 35. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; p. 26. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; p. 127. Jones [Ed.] (Complete Tutor Violin), c. 1815; p. 12. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Rants & Reels), 1997; No. 5, p. 4 (appears as "Birks of Aberfeldy"). Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3; No. 7, p. 4. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 104, p. 140. O'Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. III), c. 1808; p. 18. Oswald (Caledonian Pocket Companion, Book 8), 1760; p. 16 (appears as "Berks of Abergelde"). Petrie (Second Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances), 1796; p. 18. Playford (A Collection of Original Scotch Tunes), 1700; No. 25, p. 11. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 209. Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2), 1765; No. 189 (appears as "The De'el's Dead"). Wright (Wright's Compleat Collection of Celebrated Country Dances), 1740; p. 42 (appears as "Berks of Abergelde").
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