Annotation:Cailleach an fhraoich
X:1 T:Cailleach an fhraoich M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig B:Alexander Mackay – A Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Slow Tunes… B:Chiefly composed by Alexander Mackay, Musician Islay (c. 1822, p. 23) B: https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/104487947 N:Dedicated to the Right Hon. Lady Elinor Campbell of Islay and Shawfield. N:Mackay was born c. 1775 and was a fiddler-composer from Islay. Many of his N:tune titles are reflect Islay settings. N:Printed in Glasgow by J. MacFadyen, 30 Wilson St. Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Ador g|eAA edB|eAA A2g|eAA edB|dBG G2g| eAA edB|cBA a2e|gag g2e|dBG G2:| |:g|aAA edB|AAA A2g|aAA edB|gGG G2g| agf edB|cBA a2e|gab efg|dBG G2:|]
CAILLEACH AN FHRAOICH. Scottish, Jig (6/8 time). A Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Cailleach an fhraoich" was printed in Islay fiddler-composer biography:Alexander Mackay'sCollection of Reels, Strathspeys and Slow Tunes (c. 1822). The tune sounds like a pipe jig, but is unattributed in Mackay's collection, with no hint of its origins. The tune is generally similar to the strathspey "Mrs. Christie" by William Marshall (more so in the first strain than the second), but the relationship is perhaps not cognate.
Cailleach an/am fhraoich refers to a large sheaf of heather tied tightly together with ropes of the same material, used as a door to a sheep cot or similar building[1].
