Toby Rider wrote:
>I think his stratshpeys had too many different notes and not enough
>repetition to be good step dance strathspeys. :-) The very same
>qualities that make them good tunes to listen to, make them not as
>powerful for step dancing.
> I believe Skinner probably would have been fine with that. I
highly
>doubt Skinner was writing tunes with Highlanders in mind. By the time
>he started writing tunes, the Highlands has already been cleared, and
>the people who would appreciate the sort of driving strathspeys you need
>for step dancing were already moved to North America, Australia, or
>dead..
I certainly am far removed from the depth of history in this field
compared to those who have been carrying this discussion and I had no
idea how far this discussion would go when I originally asked for
information on the ornament but I have been reading certain articles
concerning J. Scott and his fiddle & dance. Here are a few quotes
concerning his relation to dance & fiddle.
...................................................................................................................
"It was nothing unusual for Peter" ( Peter being his brother ) "and me to
trudge eight or ten weary miles on a slushy wet night in order to fulfill
a barn engagement". And he describes a typical dance of the 1850s, held
in a building with an earthen floor, lit by tallow dips mounted on wall
brackets and the 'orchestra' consisting of fiddle, cello and flute. "
"He studied under a dancing master, William Scott, and thereafter adopted
'Scott' as his own middle name. While dancing, as much as fiddle playing,
would be his livelihood for years to come, was it really in homage to his
instructor that he changed his name? "
" With almost a year's tuition in dancing from Wm. Scott, "Professor" of
Elocution, Stoneywood, J. Scott Skinner now held dancing classes in the
district as far out as Alford. He actually beat the renowned John M'Neill
of Edinburgh in a sword-dance competition in Ireland in 1862 and the
following year played The Marquis of Huntly's Farewell and The Marquis of
Tullybardine at a grand strathspey and reel competition in Inverness,
thereby gaining the first prize and ousting perhaps the best players in
Joseph Lowe's Edinburgh Band. When he subsequently extended his field of
activities to the Ballater district his reputation soon reached the ears
of the Queen, who requested him to teach the tenantry at Balmoral
callisthenics and dancing. In 1868 he claimed to have 125 pupils there."
"........1868, aged twenty five, he was working as a dance teacher to the
tenantry at the palace of Balmoral. He established, with both dance and
violin teaching, a practice apparently successful enough to allow him,
around 1870, to marry fellow-dancer Jane Stuart."
Pete Cooper Article MT007
......................................................................................................................
As I understand from these quotes and other readings concerning Skinners
fiddle and dancing, he must have been highly versed in both and to have
been taught by by a professional dancer such as Wm. Scott and to have
been requested by the Queen to teach dancing at the Balmoral
callisthenics and dancing.
"He actually beat the renowned John M'Neill of Edinburgh in a
sword-dance competition in Ireland in 1862 and the following year played
The Marquis of Huntly's Farewell and The Marquis of Tullybardine at a
grand strathspey and reel competition in Inverness."
Is the sword-dance traditional highland? I always thought it to be.
I also understand that his dancing and some of his fiddle tunes
must have been at times - of a more professional style rather than that
of the highlanders tradition as Toby mentioned. Perhaps his earlier
years reflected a more traditional style as the above quotes reflect on
his and his brothers experience trudging "eight or ten weary miles on a
slushy wet night in order to fulfill a barn engagement".
" And he describes a typical dance of the 1850s, held in a building with
an earthen floor, lit by tallow dips mounted on wall brackets and the
'orchestra' consisting of fiddle, cello and flute. "
This sounds to me to be a deep, visceral association to the folk
traditions of Scottish music.
All in all......( and again, with my limited historical knowledge - but
wanting to know more ) it seems to me that Skinner must have had a deep
appreciation for both the folk dance & fiddle tunes as well as the more
highly articulated "violin" music and the developing mixture of the two
we know now as "traditional" Scottish repertoire and penned tunes that
could be considered mixtures of his life experiences. I trust that as
his career developed that he certainly knew more about what was
considered in vogue in both folk and classical music for his society in
his era and taught dancing & played his fiddle & wrote tunes accordingly.
Albeit.......highland music, in particular, wasn't mentioned in anything
I've read in regards to Skinner.
Keith Dunn
Marietta, Ga.
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