Annotation:Huntly Castle
X:1 % T:Huntly Castle C:J. Scott Skinner M:C L:1/8 R:Air Q:"Grave, Despairingly." N:"To Charles Hardie, Aberdeen." N:Hardie was an accomplished fiddler. B:Skinner - The Logie Collection (1888, p. 62) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:Cmin .E/.D/|(C>c) (=Bc) (Ac) (G>>F)|{EF}(E>D) (CE) (D=B,) G,.=A,.=B,|(C>c) (=Bc) (Ac) (G>>F)| {EF}(EC) (GG,) (C2C):|"Impassioned"D|([G,E]e) {e}(d>c) (Be) (G>>F)|(E>D) (CE) (D=B,) G,.=A,.=B,| "Pitifully"(C>e) (e/4d/4) z/4 (d/4c/4)z/4 (c/4B/4)z/4 (B/4A/4)z/4 (A/4G/4)z/4 (G/4F/4)z/4|{EF}(E/D/E/F/) (GG,) C2-C>D| ([G,E]e) {e}(d>c) (B/c/d/e/) (G>F)|{EF}(E/D/E/B/) (A/G/F/E/) {EF}(E/D/E/C/) (GG,)| {=B,}C(=B/c/) G(B/c/) A(B/c/ g/).e/.c/.A/|{GA}(G/F/G/A/) (G/F/E/D/) C2-C||
HUNTLY CASTLE. Scottish, Air (whole time). C Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by fiddler-composer and dancing master biography:J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927). A slow air set to words by "A.H.", included in Skinner's Logie Collection (1888). The first two stanzas go:
Alane, ae dreary winter's nicht,
By Huntly Castle's cauldrife wa's,
A weary ootcast watched the craws
Gang whirlin' oot o' sight.
An' as he gripped his tattered claes,
Tae hap him frae the drivin' blast,
His e'en aroun' he fearfu' cast,
Alang the leaf-strewn ways.
Skinner dedicated the tune to fiddler Charles Hardie of Aberdeen (1849-1893), a carpenter by trade who had a reputation as one of the best Scottish fiddlers of his era. Skinner considered him an excellent interpreter of slow airs, light reels and hornpipes.