Bishop Alexander MacDonald's Farewell to Victoria
BISHOP ALEXANDER MACDONALD'S FAREWELL TO VICTORIA. AKA - "Bishop MacDonald." Canadian, Slow Air (4/4 time). Canada; Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Perlman (1996) thinks this irregular (in the 'A' part) tune originated on Cape Breton. In fact the whole tune is a composition of Dan Beaton of Mabou, Cape Breton. Bishop Alexander MacDonald (1858-1941), a native of Inverness County, Cape Breton, was Roman Catholic Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia, from 1908-1923. He was the son of Catherine Beaton MacDonald, so there is a family connection with the composer.
Source for notated version: Paul MacDonald (b. 1974, Charlottetown, Queens County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].
Printed source: Perlman (Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 210.
Recorded sources:
See Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
X:1 T:Bishop MacDonald in D M:4/4 L:1/8 Q:120 Z:Paul Mulvaney R:reel K:D FG| A2 AF A2 Bc| d>e (3dcB (3AFB BA | B2 de f2 ed | BA FE FA AF |\ [M:2/4]\ A2 Bc| [M:4/4] | d>e (3dcB (3AFB BA | B2 (3Bcd F2 G<E2|\ [M:2/4]\ D2-DG| [M:4/4] A2 AF A2 Bc | de dB B2 BA | B2 de f2 ed | BA FE FA AF |\ [M:2/4]\ A2 Bc| [M:4/4] | d>e (3dcB (3AFB BA | B2 Bd F2 E2 |\ [M:2/4]\ D2-Dg | [M:4/4] fa ab a2 fd | fb ba b2 (3abc' | d'2 fa b2 de | f2 ed BA FE | fa ab a2 fd | fb ba b2 (3abc' | d'2 fa b2 de | f2 e2 d4|| %flute player PG Mulvaney from harper Elaine Fortin %from Rankin Family from K Burke? from Ed Pearlman % from CB fdlr Paul MacDonald, whence?