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Monymusk strathspey

Also known as Money Musk, Moneymusk, Munny Musk, Sir Archibald Grant Of Monemusk’s, Sir Archibald Grant Of Money Musk, Sir Archibald Grant Of Moneymusk, Sir Archibald Grant Of Mony Musk.

There are 24 recordings of this tune.
This tune has been recorded together with

Monymusk appears in 1 other tune collection.

Monymusk has been added to 4 tune sets.

Monymusk has been added to 23 tunebooks.

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One setting

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Thirteen comments

Monymusk (Strathspey)

I learnt this strathspey yesterday at a workshop for Scottish dance music, which finished with two hours of playing for the dancers. In response to a question the tutor said that the key of G was the key in an official “bible” of Scottish dance music.
Apart from the key signature, note how markedly this strathspey differs from the Monymusk reel elsewhere on the database, especially in the the B part.

It doesn’t differ greatly. The ‘reel’ version in the database is just a simplified version of the strathspey.
I believe there is a march under the same name (though the title of the strathspey is "Sir Archibald Grant of Mony[e]musk’s Reel) - Alford fiddlers are said to play it.
“Monymusk” is pronounced ‘moaneemusk’ by folk today (was called ‘Munimusc’ in olden days)- it has nowt to do with money.

http://www.scottish-places.info/parishes/parhistory350.html

Monymusk (Strathspey)

@Weejie, many thanks for those links, in particular the Scott Skinner which gives useful alternative ornamentation and shows how notes can be linked across the bars in the B-part. Of course, the “reel” version you mentioned probably wouldn’t be much use to the ladies and gentlemen who were dancing the strathspey yesterday!

The four tunes we used to provide the 8 x 32 bars for the strathspey dancing set were,
1. Monymusk
2. Jenny’s Bawbee (a cracker of a tune, and it’s on the database here)
3. Green Grow the Rashes (a strathspey version of Green Grow the Rushes, which is on the database here as a barndance)
4. Micky Ainsworth’s Back-Pedalling Mudguard
We played them in the order 1,2,3,4,2,3,4,1.

Oh aye …..?

“Moneymusk” is pronounced “Moaneemusk” by folk today….."
sez who…?
[ asks “Kenny”, whose father was born there, and whose grandparents are buried in the chuchyard there. ]

“Moneymusk” is pronounced “Moaneemusk” by folk today….."
sez who…?
[ asks “Kenny”, whose father was born there, and whose grandparents are buried in the chuchyard there. ]"

Would that be “Kenny who cannae even spell it”?

Says the people living there the noo.

Móin?

Where is Moneymusk - Scotland? If it’s pronounced ‘Moan’ as Weejie suggests, more than likely connected to the gaeilge - Móin - a bog. Quite common in Irish placenames at any rate. Moneyduff - the black bog, Moneyflugh - the wet bog etc.
I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to the -musk part.

Posted .

Good bit of speculative etymology there, the wounded hussar, wouldn’t surprise me if you were onto something with that.

“If it’s pronounced ‘Moan’ as Weejie suggests, more than likely connected to the gaeilge - Móin - a bog. Quite common in Irish placenames at any rate”

It’s spelled “Monymusk” and, right enough, it is thought to come from mòine (moss, or bog) and mùsgach (damp, mouldy). Some sduggest that it should be anglicised to “festering bog” but it’s quite a nice place. If it weren’t for a few trees and Cairn William, I would be looking at it as I write this. I don’t doubt that Kenny’s folk may have pronounced it differently, but, like a lot of places round here, the incomers outnumber those born and bred. My neighbour, however, who is as Doric as they come, calls it “Mawnymusk”.

My point was that it is not anything to do with ‘money’ and it is not spelled as such.

“My point is that it’s a DUPLICATION! lol”

Well, no, it’s not. This is the strathspey setting. vll.

Monymusk (Strathspey)

Weejie is correct, and I did check out the “reel” version before posting. A strathspey is far removed from a reel and has quite a different feel to it. It is dance music for the strathspey; strathspey dancers wouldn’t dance to a reel if they could help it! Rhythmic structures aside, there are also important differences between the B-parts of the strathspey and reel versions.