I broached the subject of a collected edition of Jimmy Shand's work with Jim
Johnstone (accordionist, bandleader and at that time chair of the National
Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs), and he said that the Association
had been looking at the idea. It seems, however, that Shand published with
all of the main publishers in Scotland in the fifties and sixties, and that
the question of his copyrights is a bit of a thorny one. No one is quite
sure just how many tunes he wrote: his family has music that may or not have
been sent to the publishers. There's no definitive list. In short, the
prospects for a Collected Shand `a la Skinner or Gow are remote. There is a
great deal of Shand material which has been archived by Professor Sandy
Tulloch of Dundee, but what the plans are for this material I don't know.
The volumes that Nigel referred to, however, are still generally available
(and 'Welcome Christmas Morning' is in one of the waltz collections).
This thread throws up the major question of what constitutes a good tune.
Most of the instrumental music that we play started life as dance music,
'competent and good enough for dancing' as Nigel put it. It would be a
braver soul than me though that would predict what will stand the test of
time and what will not.
As for Shand's influence...we always try to get back home from our gigs on
the same night.
David Francis
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
t/f (44) 131 557 1050 (o); (44) 131 669 8824 (h)
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob MacKillop <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 26 December 2000 18:05
Subject: Re: [scots-l] Jimmy Shand dies
>> In my opinion Shand's compositions aren't great;
>> they're competent and good enough to fulfil their function - dancing -
but
>> there are not many of them that will survive time.
>
>Well Niel Gow wasn't a 'great' composer either, with one or two exceptions,
>but has stayed the course. Someone else mentioned Gow alongside Shand. They
>do have similarities. Shand was a necessity for our hoose perty's when I
>was young. I would like to look again at his work. I meant to do this a
year
>ago when I read his biography, but never got round to it.
>
>Rob
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>http://www.robmackillop.com
>
>
>Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To
subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to:
http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
>
Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To
subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
