Struan Robertson’s Rant strathspey

I’l add at least one more transcript later. In the meantime, here are some relatives already in the database ~

“The Red Haired Girl Of Tulloch”
Submitted on January 2nd 2005 by armandale.
https://thesession.org/tunes/4043

“Cuckold Come Out Of The Amrey”
Submitted on April 29th 2007 by Dr. Dow.
https://thesession.org/tunes/7116

X: 2
T: Struan Robertson’s Rant
T: The Robertson Rant
B: James Stewart Robertson’s “The Athole Collection”, 1884, page 104
U: T = !trill!
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: strathspey
K: GMaj
|: d/ |\
E/E/E {F/}G>A TB>AB<d | D/D/D TF>E D/E/F/G/ A<F |
E/E/E {F/}G>A TB>AB<e | {^c/}d>BA>F E/E/E TE3/ :|
|: g/ |\
e>f{f/}g>e b>e{f/}g>e | f<dd>f a/g/f/e/ {^c/}d>f |
e>f{f/}g>e b>e{f/}g>e | d>BA>F E/E/E E3/ :|
|: B/ |\
{F/}G>BE>B {F/}G>BE>B | F>AD>A F>AD>A |
{F/}G>BE>B {F/}G>BE>g | Tf>da>f e/e/e Te3/ :|
f/ |\
g>be>b g>be>b | f>ad>a f>ad>a |
g>be>b g>be>g | Tf>da>f e/e/e Te>f |
g>be>b g>be>b | f>ad>a f>ad>f |
g>bf>a e>f{^c/}d>f | {^c/}d/c/B/A/ {c/}d<F E/E/E E3/ |]

K: Emin

A necessary correction to the above extraction from “The Athole Collection”…

# Posted on January 28th 2012 by SionedMc
https://thesession.org/discussions/29225

This tune was submitted in part in answer to Sioned’s question…

Sans gracing:

X: 1
T: Struan Robertson’s Rant
S:David Glen’s Book 4
M: C
L: 1/8
R: strathspey
K:HP
|:B/B/B d>e f>e f<a|A/A/A e>c A>B cA|B/B/B d>e f>e f<a|g/f/e a>c B<B f2:|
|:B>c d>B f>B dB|c<A A>c e/d/c/B/ A>c|B>c d>B f>B d>B|a>f e>c B<B f2:|
d>f B<f d>f B>d|c>e A<e c>e A>e|d>f B<f d>f B>d|c>A e>c B<B f2|
d/<d/f B/<B/f d/<d/f B/<B/f |c/<c/e A/<A/e c/<c/e A/<A/e|
d/<d/f d/<d/f c/<c/e c/<c/e|B>d c>A B<B f2||

HP sauce! A nice one… Curious though - AABBCD ~ and especially D… 😏 Tell us more if you can…

That’s exactly how it appears in Glen’s. Obviously the gracing makes a difference.
I could give you a history of the Struan Robertsons - but much of that is legend.

The gracing for those interesting runs in the last part:

{g}d/4{G}d3/4f {g}B/4{G}B3/4f {g}d/4{G}d3/4f {g}B/4{G}B3/4f|
{g}c/4{A}c3/4e {g}A/4{G}A3/4e {g}c/4{A}c3/4e {g}A/4{G}A3/4e|

I love it, thanks Weejie. Someday, to raise my appreciation, I’ll have to chase up a decent practice chanter and give it a go. A well played scurl, from a distance, over in the next field, has never failed to make me pensive and raise emotions… 😉 ( ~ and near at hand too, with a few valued recordings of marvelous pipers, in part thanks to recommendations by folks on site here…)

My greatest appreciation there are the pipers of Cape Breton, dance-centric and not so tied to the tyranny of the many grace heavy collections… But, my heart responds to a wider field of stimulus… 🙂 However, I do prefer things less prescriptive and uniform and more inspired…

http://www.piobaireachd.co.uk/

I take it that David Glen was publishing from the 1870 through to the first decade of the 20th Century?

A Collection of Ancient Piobaireachd, Book 4
Compiled and Arranged by David Glen
With Historic Biographic and Legendary Notes
Regarding the Tunes by Fionn - 1896

“Legendary Notes”?

The trouble with what I call “minorish” tunes is that there are many that sound very similar. However, there a couple of tunes in this case which are of interest.

This tune is in the collection of Alexander “King” McGlashan (1740-1797):

X:946
T:Davie Rae
S:McGlashan’s Collection (1778)
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Em
F | E/E/E GA B>ABd | D/D/D dF D/E/F/G/ AF | E/E/E GA B>ABd | eBdF E/E/E E :|
f | e>fge b>fge | f>edg a/g/f/e/ df | efge bfge | dBAF E/E/E E
f | e>fge b>fge | f>edg a/g/f/e/ df | efge bfge | dBAF E/E/E E2 |
|: G>BE>B G>BE>B | F>AD>A F>AD>A | G>BE>B G>BE>G | f>e^df e/e/e e2 :|
g>be>b g>be>b | f>ad>a f>ad>a | g>be>b g>be>g | f>e^df e/e/e e2 |
g>be>b g>be>b | f>ad>a f>ad>a | b>fg>e f>de>^c |d/^c/B/A/ dF E/E/E E2 ||

And a pipe tune found in the Skye Collection:

X:947
T:Red Haired Girl of Tulloch, The
S:Skye Collection (1887)
N:Transposed from Bm for comparison
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Em
E<EG>A B>AB<d | D<DF>E D>FA>F | E<EG>A B>AB<^c | d>BA>F E<E B2 :|
G>BE>B G<BE>B | F<AD>A F<AD>A | G<BE>B G<BE>B | d>BA>F E<E B2 |
G>BE>B G>BE>B | F>AD>A F>AD>A | E<EG>A B>AB<^c | d>BA>F E<E B2 ||

This tune is not from the Piobaireachd collection. It is from David Glen’s Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music:

“David Glen’s Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music appeared in 17 parts between 1876 and 1900 and contained nearly 1,100 pieces of light music, both old and new”

http://www.pipetunes.ca/composers.asp?pg=Details&composerID=147

You’ll find them at Ceol Sean.

Thanks all, appreciated…

WOW! Weejie, I love the link, especially the pictures and text…

A treasure trove, and the transcriptions you’ve both given as well. I look forward to more reads from that site, thanks.

All that pre-turned and bored woodstock curing there around him, amazing ~
http://www.pipetunes.ca/myimages/Image/composers/Glen-in-shop1910-600.jpg

And there it is again on the back table of that workshop ~
http://www.pipetunes.ca/myimages/Image/composers/Alexander-Glen-and-son-Davi.jpg

And more ~
http://www.pipetunes.ca/myimages/Image/composers/Glen-with-Apprentice-600.jpg

Amazing…

Back to the Glen collections, what is meant by “Tunes by ”FIONN“”?

“what is meant by ”Tunes by “FIONN”“?”

It’s just the way the cover has set the text. It reads:

“Historic, biographic and legendary notes to the tunes by ‘Fionn’ ”
These notes appeared in the later editions (if you call 1904-7 “later”). “Fionn” must have been considered an expert.

“Fionn” was Henry Whyte.

This Henry Whyte (1852 - 1913):

http://www.archive.org/details/celticlyrecollec06whyt

Thanks Weejie… I’d been dipping in and out as I chased up other chores and almost burnt dinner… 😉

I like McGlashan’s take on it Nigel. I love that ^d…