Annotation:Braes of Newe (The)
X:1 % T:Braes of Newe, The C:Alexander Walker M:C L:1/8 R:Strathspey B:Walker - Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances &c. (1866, p. 49) F:http://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/105875664?mode=zoom Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:F C|F>GA>F D<F C2|F>GA>F D<G G2|F>GA>F (A<c) d2| c<fa>g f2-f:|a|b>ga>f g>f d2|d<gg>f d<gg>a| b>ga>f g>f d2|c>fa>g (f2 f>)c|d<BB>d c>AA>c| B>GA>F G>FD>F|F>AG>B A>cB>d|c>fa>g (f2 f)||
BRAES OF NEWE, THE. Scottish, Strathspey (whole time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by biography:Alexander Walker, born 1810, Rhynie, Strathbogie, Aberdeenshire. Once employed (as a gardener) and patronized by Sir Charles Forbes of Castle Newe, Walker emmigrated to the United States at age 51 to join his brother in Vermont, and later in Williamstown, Mass., where he "was still going strong in 1898 as a farmer and land surveyor". He published 200 of his melodies before he left Scotland, and a further 180 in America (of which the latter appear lost).
The lands of the Laird of Newe included Ben Newe (braes of Newe refers to the slopes), Strathdon, and Newe's Craig, where today can be found the remains of an illicit still for making whisky. The making of homemade whisky from malted barley in remote and hidden places was common in the late 18th and early 19th century, despite efforts by the authorities to suppress it. It was finally brought under control after 1823 when legislation was passed that permitted the distilling of whisky for a small license fee and reduced taxes on malt. While Walker probably had the beauty of the region in mind, he was probably also cognizant of other aspects of the area. See also Walker's reel "Ben Newe."