Annotation:Mrs. Dundas of Arniston
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MRS. DUNDAS OF ARNISTON. AKA - "Dundas of Arniston's Reel." Scottish, Reel. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. One of seven compositions attributed to William Gow (1751 1791), the eldest son of Niel Gow. William took over the Alexander McGlashan band when 'King' retired and was reputedly a player of 'bold and spirited style.' The melody was recorded by Cape Breton fiddler Winston Fitzgerald [1] on a 78 RPM and has some currency among Cape Breton fiddlers.
Arniston House has been in the Dundas family since 1571. It was rebuilt by architect William Adam beginning in 1726, and finished by his son John in the 1750's. Mrs. Dundas was Elizabeth Dundas (1756-1852), eldest daughter of Henry Dundas, who married her cousin, Robert Dundas [2] in May, 1787. They had three sons and two daughters. Robert was a jurist who served a term as Lord Advocate, Member of Parliament Edinburghshire and later Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Elizabeth outlived her husband by more than thirty years.
See also William Shepherd's "Mrs. Dundas of Arniston's Strathspey."
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 301. G.H. Davidson (Davidson's Gems of Scottish Melody), n.d. (c. 1830's); p. 36 (appears as "Dundas of Arniston's Reel"). Gatherer (Gatherer’s Musical Museum), 1987; p. 7. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 190. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 2), c. 1880's; No. 101, p. 13. Little (Scottish and Cape Breton Fiddle Music in New Hampshire), 1984; p. 1. Lowe, Lowe's Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Jiggs (1844 45). MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 113. Manson (Hamilton's Universal Tune Book, vol. 1), 1844; p. 15 (as "Dundas of Arniston's Reel"). Skinner (Harp and Claymore), 1904; p. 55. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 69.
Recorded sources:
See also listings at:
Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [3]
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [4]