Annotation:Miss Erskine of Torry (1)

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MISS ERSKINE OF TORRY [1]. Scottish, Strathspey. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCD (Skye) AABBCCDD' (Athole). Composition credited to Perthshire fiddler-compser Neil Gow (1727-1807), although his name does not appear with the tune in the Gow’s 2nd Collection (1788). The title may refer to Frances Erskine (born before 1773, died 1798), the daughter of Sir William Erskine, Bart., who married Lt. General Willimam Weymss (1760-1822) in 1788 (see “General Wemyss”), the same year the Gows published their Second Collection. See “Winston in the '50's” for a Cape Breton reel setting of this tune.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Gow (Second Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1788; p. 19 (3rd edition). MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 139. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 232.

Recorded sources: David Greenberg & Doug MacPhee – “Tunes Until Dawn.” Jerry Holland – “The Fiddlesticks Collection.”