Annotation:Miss Russell of Blackhall (2)
X:1 T:Miss Russell (of Blackhall's) Reel [2] C:"By R. Mackintosh" S:Petrie's Second Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances &c. Z:Steve Wyrick <sjwyrick'at'astound'dot'net>, 6/11/04 N:Petrie's Second Collection, page 16 L:1/8 M:6/8 R:Jig K:Gmin D|(TG^FG) (TBAB)|(TG^FG) (D2=E) |(TF=EF) fcA|cAF FGA| (TG^FG) (TBAB)|(Td^cd) (Tg^fg)|dcB cBA|G3 G2:| d|gdb ag^f |g3 (d2=e) |fca gf=e|fAB (cBA)| gdb ag^f |g3 gfe|dcB cBA |BGG G2d| gdb ag^f |gdb ag^f |fca gf=e|fAB cBA| BAG cBA|dcB edc|dba ga^f|g3 G2|]
MISS RUSSELL (OF BLACKHALL’S) REEL [2]. Scottish, Jig (6/8 time). B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Kirkmichael, Perthshire, fiddler and composer Biography:Robert Petrie (1767-1830) included this tune in his 2nd Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances (1796, p. 16), crediting the composition to Robert (Red Rob) Mackintosh (c. 1745-1807) of Perthshire (who also composed "Mrs. Russell of Blackhall"). David MacGregor Peter's The Baronage of Angus and Mearns (1856, p. 43) recorded:
Blackhall House, a fine old mansion, beautifully situated amid luxuriant plantations of fir, birch, beech, ash, and other trees, and fine grounds and gardens, about a mile west of Banchory-Ternan, on the south bank of the Dee. At the Bridge at Banchory, there are two porter’s lodges, a fine gate with tall stone pillars, each over-topped with an effigy of a goat, as large as life, and under, the motto—Che sara sara (What will be will be)—being the crest and motto of the Russells of Blackhall, which failed in two co-heiresses, one of whome wedded Archibald Farquharson of Finzean, and carried the estate to her husband, who died issueless.
Since Archibald Farquharson was born in 1793, Mackintosh's "Miss Russell" must refer to the former generation of Russells to inhabit Blackhall House (for which see "annotation:Miss Russell of Blackhall (1)).
