Product Description
I have always loved Celtic fiddle tunes (particularly Scottish, followed by Irish). The late Don MacAlpine, a friend, neighbor, fellow teacher, and very proud Scot, introduced me to this pair of dances about forty years ago. The first is a strathspey, "The Laird o Drumblaire" by James Scott Skinner, the other is a traditional reel called 'Miller's Reel' The occasion of a Fiddle Fare, a local old-time fiddlers competition, caused me to haul this old favorite of mine out of the closet. I have arranged it here to be accompanied by guitar and string bass.
The Laird o Drumblair was composed by James Scott Skinner (1843-1927), a key figure in Scottish traditional music. He raised the art of Scottish fiddle music to a new height through both his playing and his compositions. The Laird of Drumblair, the namesake of the piece, was William McHardy, one of Skinners benefactors. McHardy made more £100,000 from engineering work in South Africa, before returning to live at Drumblair House, Forgue, by Huntly, Aberdeenshire.
One can checkout Skinners original manuscript of the piece at: www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/display.php?ID=JSS0081
The arrangement I have posted here varies in a few notes and rhythms from Skinners original. My arrangement is based upon a version performed by a Scottish National Fiddle Champion of the mid-1960s (whose name I do not recall) in a recording played for me by Don MacAlpine.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.