Annotation:Willie Blair (1)

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Willie Blair, from a newspaper clipping [Univ. of Aberdeen, James Scott Skinner site].

WILLIE BLAIR [1] (THE QUEEN'S FIDDLER). Scottish, Strathspey (whole time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The strathspey was composed by fiddler-composer biography:Joseph_Lowe (1796-1866), in honor of his friend Willie Blair (1794-1884), known as "The Queen's Fiddler." The two enjoyed making music together, but also were companions in non-musical activities. Lowe records in his journal that on a fishing expedition Blair "got into a farm house with some of the Gillies and got himself quite spoiled...I had to hire a Gig to take him home" (Sept. 23, 1853). Blair was born on the estate of Abergeldie, in the parishes of Crathie and Glengairn on the left bank of the River Dee, about six miles above Ballater, Aberdeenshire, and adjacent to what would become Balmoral Castle, the Highland retreat of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was taught to play by his father, the leading fiddler in Crathie in his day, and was known for the 'enthusiasm' and 'force' of his playing, with "a firm, long-drawn bow" accompanied by time kept loudly with his right foot (or, as he put it, "chappin' wi' my richt fit")^[1].

An essay on Blair was written by Aberdeen fiddler and fiddle-maker Alexander G. Murdoch, and appears in his The Fiddle in Scotland: Comprising Sketches of Scotch Fiddlers and Fiddle Makers (1888, pp. 66-71)^[2]. Blair was well-known in the area when Victoria and Albert bought Balmoral in 1852, and he soon received a summons to entertain at the estate, which he continued to do for several decades. Murdoch includes this anecdote about Willie:

He liked a compliment and smacked his lips over it with truly professional zest. One night, when playing at a ball, after the most of the company had dispersed, old Willie, who had had a good dram, was to be seen playing away at his very best, and only one couple dancing on the floor. When he ceased a voice cried out,

'Weel dune, Willie Blair! Ye've played 'Smith's a Gallant Fireman (The)' first rate'.
'Aye, ha'e I,' replied Willie in grave earnest, 'It was never better played since the world cam' intae existance.

J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927) befriended Blair when he taught dancing at Deeside. See also his tune "Willie Blair (2)."

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↑ Alexander Murdoch, The Fiddle in Scotland, 1888, p. 67.
↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=jIbAM455AWAC&pg=PA33&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

[1] Alexander Murdoch, The Fiddle in Scotland, 1888, p. 67.

[2] ttps://books.google.com/books?id=jIbAM455AWAC&pg=PA33&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

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