Hi Francis, Thanks for this further information - you are clearly more efficient at web-searches than I was.
This is fascinating. Delving into the details given on the 'gleeman' website reveals the following source for this tune: Transcribed by: J T Hallel, 2005. (www.gleeman.org) Source: Johnson, James, The Scots Musical Museum, (Edinburgh: James Johnson, 1787-1803), No. 316; vol IIII, p327. Notes: Original by Burns. I don't have access to Johnson's collection, but if he published it before 1799 then it could have been current when Robert Bewick learn it. According to the website 'Burns Country' this poem/song was written in 1791. Burns died in 1796. It is interesting to speculate (and at the moment it is just speculation) that IF this is the song that Bewick knew, then there can't have been many tunes written for it or adapted to it between its creation in 1791 and Bewick knowing it by 1799. I agree about Robert probably playing a keyless chanter at that time, but do you think some variation of this tune have been played on one? Brilliant bit of devilling here - well done! Richard >----Original Message---- >From: oatenp...@googlemail.com >Date: 25/07/2009 18:28 >To: <nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu> >Cc: <richard.hea...@tiscali.co.uk> >Subj: Robert Bewick tune > >Richard wrote: > >"In his letter Robert writes, "... I have got some nice new tunes from > >Jemmy Maffin my father likes the one called What would a Lassie de we >an auld Man the best of any of them and I have jingled them up since I >came home." (sic) > >I have two points on which I seek help. > >Can anyone identify this tune?" > > > >I can’t help with the tune, though a bit of Googling provided a text >by Robert Burns and a fine melody that fits. > >http://gleeman.org/songs/collection/young_lassie_auld_man_01.html > >So is this the tune that young Robert got off Jemmy Maffin? It seems >unlikely. My tentative guess is that at 11, Robert was still playing a >keyless chanter. That thought is based on what I can make out from the >portrait by John Bell reproduced on the cover of the NPS Magazine >1982. That issue contains Iain Bain’s excellent article: Thomas and >Robert Bewick and their Connection with Northumbrian Piping. In it, >Bain includes some speculation on when Robert may have acquired a >keyed chanter. I have scanned the article and I hope he will not mind >my sharing it here: > >http://www.mediafire.com/? sharekey=09ff1cf99500a89441446e35a78dc463e04e75f6e8ebb871 > >This doesn’t get us much further with an answer to your question, >Richard. But as is often with these things the journey is just as >interesting as the destination. > >Francis > Stay safe online with Tiscali Security Centre - http://www.tiscali.co.uk/security __________________________________________________________________ To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
