The Man From Glengarry reel

This is a great pipe reel by D.C Mather. I know the notes are that of the A mix scale but on this one the G’s are really passing notes and it’s more of an A major tune. I’ve posted the original arrangement but I learned it from and prefer the version by Breabach on their album ’The Big Spree“.

Here’s it is……

X: 1
T: The Man From Glengarry
C: D.C. Mather
S: Breabach - The Big Spree
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amix
|: a | cA ~A2 ceef | fecA GBBa | cA ~A2 ceef | fecB cAA :|
|: c | e3f fefa | fecA GBBc | [1 e2 ef fefa | fecB cAA :| [2 e2 ef feae | cedB cAA :|
|: a | fecB ~A2 cA | ~A2 cA GBBa | fecB ~A2 cA | cedB cAA :|
|: e | aece fece | eAcA GBBe | [1 aece fece | cedB cAA :| [2 aece a2 ad | cedB cAA :|

George Ormiston attempted to teach this tune at a flute workshop in the Scottish borders last weekend. I say “attempted”, because I think the general consensus was that it was a tricky tune to transfer from the Highland pipes to the flute, and time was limited. In any case, it got me looking for recordings of the tune, which I knew I had somewhere, and thanks to it being posted here by “bogman”, and the links to “Recordings of this tune”, I found one in less than 2 minutes.
There’s a fine version played by Iain MacInnes on his excellent recording “Tryst”, recorded in 1999. The sleeve notes have this to say :
“David Mather, composer of “The Man From Glengarry”, was a Londoner who won the prestigious Inverness Gold Medal in 1899, and later emigrated to North America. He ended his days working for the Anaconda Mining Company in Montana. Like many pipers of his time he was both an excellent musician and a good dancer”.