Annotation:Firth of Cromortie (The)
X:1 T:Frith of Cromortie, The M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel N:'Frith' was once and alternate spelling of 'Firth'. B:John Gow – A Favorite Collection of Slow Airs, B:Strathspeys and Reels (London, c. 1804, p. 9) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Emin B|G2 (BF) G(EE)G|FdAd FDAF|GBFB GEeg|afbf g(ee)B| G2 (BF) G(EE)G|FdAd FDFD|EGFA GBAc|BGAF GEE|| f|(a/g/f/e/ b)e Bege|defg afdf| (a/g/f/e/ B)e|gebg B^dfa (geef)| (a/g/f/e/ b)e Bege|dadf AdFD|GBEe ^dfBa|(b/a/g) (a/g/f) gee||
FIRTH OF CROMORTIE, THE. AKA - "Frith of Cromortie (The)." Scottish, Reel (cut time). E Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The melody appears in John and Andrew Gow's A Collection of Slow Airs, Strathspeys and Reels (London, c. 1795). Andrew (1760-1803) and younger brother John (1764-1826) established a publishing business in London in 1788 and were the English distributors for the Gow family musical publications. The Firth of Cromartie or Cromarty is formed from the Orron Water, a stream arising in the mountains of Ross-shire, which meets with other streams flowing from Loch Gillon and Loch Luichart, as it flows to the north-east. Dingwall lies at the head of the bay. The Gows published the tune as "Frith of Cromortie", 'Frith' being once an alternate spelling of 'Firth'.
The tune was claimed by Robert Mackintosh, and appears in his Fourth Collection of New Strathspey Reels (London, c. 1803) under the title "Lady Charlotte Cadogan."
