There may in fact be a market for pipers' discarded threads in India. "Weve all seen the thick bands of rotting pink threads that North Indian men wear around their wrists and the fat, lipsticked men with pencil moustaches so beloved of the South Indian screen." (http://www.hindu.com/lr/2008/03/02/stories/2008030250020100.htm)
So far no-one has complained on this list of a surplus of fat, lipsticked men, with or without moustaches, pencil or otherwise, but give it time. Tim On 16 Jan 2011, at 23:08, Francis Wood wrote: > An arduous piece of research Richard, for which we are all indebted! > > Clearly this represents a tradition in its debased and probably final stage. > The bonds holding the whole thing together are finally disintegrating. > > It seems quite probable that the decline and fall of the Roman Empire may > have had as its root cause the use of the wrong sort of oil. Probably bunged > up their lamps something rotten. > > The title here refers to a linen process perhaps, also known as retting? > > I suppose most people know of the abc resource 'ABC Convert-A-Matic' where > you can see the dots and hear the notes of this or any other tune?: > > http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html > > Francis > On 16 Jan 2011, at 22:45, Richard York wrote: > >> Arduous research in dusty attics and archives has revealed, Francis, that I >> regret it's not a strathspey, more a sort of rhythmic unravelling. >> I couldn't find anything called "The Rotting of the Cotton Threads" as such, >> but this obviously fairly corrupt version called "The Rotting of the >> Threads", which is pretty close, I'm sure you'll agree, turned up among the >> yellowing manuscripts. >> It will be seen that the rhythms perhaps reflect the progressive >> degeneration of the instrument... though I feel that the copyist has perhaps >> put them in reverse order, so that rather than losing a beat each time, the >> idee fixe actually gains one. >> Strange, and rather sad, really. >> It was hard to read the writing, but I think I transcribed it correctly. If >> anyone has a better written out version I'll be delighted to see it. >> I copy it below in abc's >> >> X:1 >> T: The Rotting of the Threads >> C:Trad? >> M:3/4 >> Q:120 >> L:1/8 >> K:G >> |:.gA.g.c e/2d/2c/2A/2|.gA.gB d/2B/2A/2G/2|.EAB.c e/2c/2B/2A/2|.DAB.c >> d/2B/2A/2G/2:| >> M:7/8 >> |: .gA.gB.c e/2d/2c/2B/2|.gA.gA.B d/2B/2A/2G/2|\ >> M:3/4 >> .EAB.c e/2c/2B/2A/2 | .DAB.c d/2B/2A/2G/2:||:/ >> M:4/4 >> .gA.gA B.ce/2d/2c/2A/2|.gA.gA B.cd/2B/2A/G/2| >> M:3/4 >> .EAB.c e/2c/2B/2A/2 |. DAB.c d/2B/2A/2G/2:||:/ >> M:9/8 >> .gAg .ABc .ee/2c/2B/2A/2|.gAg .ABc .dd/2B/2A/2G/2| >> M:3/4 >> .EAB.c e/2c/2B/2A/2| .DABc .d/2B/2A/2G/2:| >> >> Best wishes, >> Richard. >> >> >> On 15/01/2011 00:07, Francis Wood wrote: >>> A Strathspey, surely? >>> >>> Francis >>> On 14 Jan 2011, at 23:57, gibbonssoi...@aol.com wrote: >>> >>>> Is 'The rotting of the cotton threads' the title of a tune I haven't >>>> learned yet? >>> >>> >>> To get on or off this list see list information at >>> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >>> >> >> > > > --
