Annotation:Miss Russell of Blackhall (2)
X:1 T:Miss Russell (of Blackhall's) Reel [2] C:"By R. Mackintosh" S:Petrie's Second Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances &c. Z:Steve Wyrick <sjwyrick'at'astound'dot'net>, 6/11/04 N:Petrie's Second Collection, page 16 L:1/8 M:6/8 R:Jig K:Gmin D|(TG^FG) (TBAB)|(TG^FG) (D2=E) |(TF=EF) fcA|cAF FGA| (TG^FG) (TBAB)|(Td^cd) (Tg^fg)|dcB cBA|G3 G2:| d|gdb ag^f |g3 (d2=e) |fca gf=e|fAB (cBA)| gdb ag^f |g3 gfe|dcB cBA |BGG G2d| gdb ag^f |gdb ag^f |fca gf=e|fAB cBA| BAG cBA|dcB edc|dba ga^f|g3 G2|]
MISS RUSSELL (OF BLACKHALL’S) REEL [2]. Scottish, Jig (6/8 time). B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Kirkmichael, Perthshire, fiddler and composer Biography:Robert Petrie (1767-1830) included this tune in his 2nd Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances (1796, p. 16), crediting the composition to Robert (Red Rob) Mackintosh (c. 1745-1807) of Perthshire (who also composed "Mrs. Russell of Blackhall"). David MacGregor Peter's The Baronage of Angus and Mearns (1856, p. 43) recorded:
Blackhall House, a fine old mansion, beautifully situated amid luxuriant plantations of fir, birch, beech, ash, and other trees, and fine grounds and gardens, about a mile west of Banchory-Ternan, on the south bank of the Dee. At the Bridge at Banchory, there are two porter’s lodges, a fine gate with tall stone pillars, each over-topped with an effigy of a goat, as large as life, and under, the motto—Che sara sara (What will be will be)—being the crest and motto of the Russells of Blackhall, which failed in two co-heiresses, one of whome wedded Archibald Farquharson of Finzean, and carried the estate to her husband, who died issueless.
