Annotation:Niel Gow

Back to Niel Gow

NIEL GOW.
See also spellings "Neil Gow" and "Neal Gow." Gow himself insisted on the spelling 'Niel' for his name.
AKA – “Neil Gow," "Niel Gow's Reel (2).” AKA and see "Irish Jig", "Keep Your Country Bonnie Lasses" (Shetland) {?}, "Niel Gow's Strathspey." Scottish (originally), English; Strathspey. England, Northumberland. A Major (most versions): G Major (Peacock, Surenne): D Major (Gow). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Surenne): AAB (Athole, Gow): AABB (Carlin/Gow, Honeyman, Kennedy, Kerr, Peacock). Composed by the most famous of Scots fiddler-composers, Niel Gow (1727-1807), Dunkeld, Perthshire. It is worth remembering Gow’s epitaph, inscribed on his gravestone:

Gow and Time are Even Now,
Gow Beat Time and Time Beat Gow.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 482. Gow (Fourth Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 2nd ed., originally 1800; p. 36. Honeyman (Strathspey Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; p. 34. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 149, p. 35. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 9, p. 4. Peacock (Favorite collection of tunes with variations adapted for the Northumberland small pipes violin or flute/Peacock’s Tunes), c. 1805; No. 7, p. 2. Stewart_Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 15. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; pp. 20-21.

Recorded sources: