Annotation:Miss Gordon’s Strathspey—of Fochabers

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MISS GORDON'S STRATHSPEY—OF FOCHABERS. AKA – “Miss Gordon's (1)," "Miss Gordon Fochabers.” Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Cranford/Holland, Marshall): AA’B (Perlman). Composed by Biography:William Marshall (1748-1833) of Morayshire. A Scottish fiddler and composer, Marshall is most famous for his many fine strathspeys. Marshall worked for much of his life for Alexander, Duke of Gordon, as the Steward of his Household, and it is fortunate that the Duke was an enthusiastic supporter and patron of Marshall’s music. Paul Stewart Cranford (1995) remarks that some of Marshall’s tunes have been so long in oral tradition on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, that local sets have evolved; this is one such tune. Judging from the number of Cape Breton recordings of the tune, it seems to have considerable currency among fiddlers on the island.

Source for notated version: Peter Chaisson, Jr. (b. 1942, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].

Printed sources: Cranford (Jerry Holland, 2nd Collection), 2000; No. 126, p. 48. Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, p. 34. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 190.

Recorded sources: Rounder 82161-7032-2, Bill Lamey – “From Cape Breton to Boston and Back: Classic House Sessions of Traditional Cape Breton Music 1956-1977” (2000).

See also listings at:
Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]