Bonny Highland Hills - 4th turn by David Greenberg

David Greenberg (co-author of The DunGreen Collection) wrote:

"... I am just loving your new CB Scottish Collection book! It lives, for the time being, on the dining room table, where I wander through it often. I found so many interesting things, and here's one of them... The Bonny Highland Hills (aka New Strathspey Reel)...  I actually recorded this twice, in two different keys. The first time was on Puirt A Baroque's track Flowers of the Forest (from Return of the Wanderer), ... the 2nd with Chris Norman ...

I guess I initially agreed with you about the 4th part being awkward on the fiddle... " (David's explanation here)

Anderson's 1793 Collection

On a different front, the examination of old manuscripts, one compilation I recently examined contains John Anderson's two early collections - rare books first published in the early 1790s. In those books I found a few 'new' settings of tunes which may have indirectly influenced Cape Breton, Irish and Scottish fiddlers.

During Anderson’s time (The Golden Era of Scottish Fiddling) there was a beehive of publishing activity. Alternate settings of the same tunes were often found with new titles in different books . This has often caused controversy amongst later historians trying to determine which title or setting is 'correct'.

In the late 19th century John Glen came up with some pretty convincing arguments which cast bad light on the Gows for claiming tunes that weren't their own (see: The Glen Collection, new edition available from Highland Music Trust). The examples below show it could go the other way too...  in other words the Gows' compositions were not always recognized by other publishers.

Although some of his findings may have validity, what Glen seems to have forgotten is that fiddle music is largely passed on aurally.  In Cape Breton it has always been my experience that fiddlers never steal each others tunes in order to claim them as their own.  Instead, because of respect

Mrs. Wemyss of Cuttle Hill (by Nathaniel Gow, 1792) republished as Lochgary's by John Anderson, 1793, in a different setting with new title and no composer credit.

for the tradition, every sincere composer I have met has always made an effort not to tread on the toes of a previous tune - and when in doubt, asks the opinion of others.

Composers do generally remember their own tunes. For all the Gow books Nathaniel Gow was the arranger and editor. As such I feel confident to assume that the tunes he claimed as his own were actually his.  However, we have to remember that once music enters an aural tradition it can innocently survive and evolve without title or history. It is my belief that composer-publishers like Gow and Anderson carefully credited their own creations. Errors did however, easily occur when naming melodies gleaned from aural sources.

Popular Em jig composed by John Anderson as When I Parted. Modern title is often The Trip to Sligo. Recorded by Michael Coleman (1923)

In Nathaniel Gow's case, he could easily have made innocent mistakes publishing contemporary tunes without giving proper credit to the composers.  Popular tunes often circulate as traditional without title or credit.

As well, the origins of tunes in his famous father 's repertoire could easily have been confused.  Niel did not read music and did not live near Nathaniel so no doubt the elder Gow was left out of much of the editing process of compiling books.  After Niel's death, Nathaniel continued to publish for almost 20 more years without anyone to turn to for verification of his fathers repertoire. 

Similarly, in Anderson's books, in addition to this example above  ( When I Parted), which he composed but has long been thought of as traditional, in his collections he also included uncredited tunes which can easily be identified as compositions by the Gows, Marshall, Bowie, Daniel Dow and others.  Simply stated, Anderson, and most every tune book compiler, pick ups some of their repertoire by ear and so, when compared to the composer's originals, some settings are better, others worse. More examples are given on our website both as addenda to The Cape Breton Scottish Collection and as well we provide some scans of selected tunes with odd titles or unusual settings which come from Anderson’s books.

The Seaforth Highlanders Rare 18th century pipe reel in Anderson's Collection

The Small Reel - 'pipe tune' likely composed by a fiddler

The 2nd example from Anderson is one called The Small Reel. Like many Cape Breton tunes, it has the feel of a pipe tune but adds twists and modality natural to the fiddle. Many theorize that during the 18th and 19th centuries Scottish fiddlers might have played in a style more akin to our older Cape Breton ear musicians - especially during those bygone days when many musicians played both fiddle and pipes. I have never heard The Small Reel played, nevertheless it's one that could easily appeal to Cape Breton or Scottish players.

Otis titled this 2013 multi-discipline project The Unfathomable Menagerie. Each medley on the recording is complemented by a beautifully produced card; a marvelous print with flip sides including both musical notation for the tunes in the medley and a poem reflecting the title of one of those tunes. Although each 'card' could be framed, the set including the CD, can be stored together on a book shelf where the spine makes it appear to be a thin paperback book.

Creatures crawling out of the woodpile

Over the years 'his menagerie' in its physical form, grew in numbers as Otis made various wooden creatures from “... the cast-offs and refuse from years at the luthier’s bench: the instruments gone wrong or never completed, the accidents and false trials, the changes of plan — the accumulated detritus of half a lifetime’s work.” His splendid combination of multiple photographs of these creatures, artfully combined in Photoshop, allowed Otis to create images which both reflect the music and the poetry.

A continuation of his amazing Fiddletree book, once again Otis' creativity is unforgettably presented. The all-original music is played on musical instruments (violins, viola, cello, mandolin, guitar and harp) all made by him out of wood which he cut from that same majestic local maple tree. The musicians are the mostly the same cast of international players featured on the initial Fiddletree book-CD. The repertoire and presentation is however totally different than the first project.