The Highlander’s Farewell To Ireland strathspey

One of my favorite tunes… This is from cranfordpub.com:

“Natalie’s multi part version (6 parts plus octave variations) of The Highlander’s Farewell to Ireland appeared in the late 1770s in both Robert Ross and Alexander McGlashan’s Collections. A similar setting was recorded on 78 disc by Cape Breton fiddler Bill Lamey. The basic two part setting is also popular and is found in the Skye Collection. The four part setting in the Athole Collection was the inspiration for the popular Irish reel Farewell To Ireland.”

A favorite of mine as well. Actually, I first came by it on an old field recording of an elderly fiddler from Galax, Virginia by the name of Emmett Lundy. Lundy refered to it simply as
“Highlander’s Farewell” and it was actually sometime before I realized its relationship to “H.’s Farewell to Ireland” (I know--a big leap ain’t it?). Regardless, Lundy’s variant is really more closely related to the version presented in the Gow Collection. Still, his is very distinct. He actually plays it as a reel, is heavy on the double stops, and incorporates some fairly complicated syncopation on the A part. In fact, I believe he plays it in the key of F--which makes for some Very interesting harmonies! Today, however, most “old-time” musicians play it in A. (I’m suspicious, however, that, while this may be truer to the melody’s Scottish origins, it may simply be a product of the fact that most “old-time” musicians are uncomfortable in keys other than A D G.) Also on the recording, Lundy tells a little story traditionally associated with the tune--at least in Virginia. He relates, “This piece was composed in the old country, where they had war in Scotland. And when the Highlanders took their departure from the Lowlands. A Highlander had a sweetheart in the Lowlands, and they just give him so long for to bid her farewell; and the low part of this represents the man and the high part, the lady.”

While I don’t know that many… this is my favourite strathspey. I came across it recently in a Green Linnet compilation double CD called “Ceilidh”, tonnes of great stuff on there. The version here is by John Cunningham and his playing seems to give me a sense of the Highlander’s sorrow(?) at leaving Ireland - Anyway, that’s what I take from the tune, amonghst other emotions.

It’s a bit of a race to keep up with JC on the blues harp 😉.

Hi there,

Does anyone have a whistle/flute score/ABC for Farewell to Ireland strathspey as played by Natalie MacMaster?

Many thanks,

Louise.

Do you have a recording? (Sorry, Michael, couldn’t resist) 😉

Don’t know if this will help, but have you seen:

http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/HIGH.htm (scroll down about 3/4 of the page)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEnKvAqYcxQ

play video

this is fine tune! and it seems very sim to the sheet music posted here…though the parts are not put together the same

same tune only parts put together dif?…am I right?

thanks in advance for your help

It’s in Scots Guards’ collection 1, but there it is called “Highland Harry” which is also a song attributed to Burns.
It’s in James Hoggs’ collection.
“Highland Harry Back Again first appeared in The Scots Magazine in August 1807, and thereafter Hogg included it in his 1810 collection of songs, The Forest Minstrel. It was created to celebrate the birthday of the Earl of Dalkeith, soon to be the 4th Duke of Buccleuch, to whose wife Hogg dedicated this new publication. The tune is known as ‘Highlander’s Lament’ and is often associated with Burns’s ‘My Harry was a gallant gay’ first published in James Johnson’s The Scots Musical Museum of 1790 (no.209). Hogg was known to sing this song himself.”

Hi everyone just letting you know that this is the better sound file for version 2 of this tune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiNroM6BiFI

play video

According to Alasdair Fraser, “Highlander’s Farewell to Ireland/Farewell to Ireland/O’er the Water to Charlie/Highlander’s Farewell (trad): One tune taken on an epic journey – originating in Scotland as a strathspey, making its way to Ireland as a reel, then lingering slightly with a popular jig from the Gaeltacht, and finally crossing over to Appalachia as a breakdown.”

https://lastnightsfun.wordpress.com/2014/05/06/alasdair-fraser-natalie-haas-and-mairead-ni-mhaonaigh-music-network-tour/

The only problem with the above is that the track listing is wrong. The reel following the opening strathspey is “The Killarney Boys Of Pleasure”, and not the 4-part Irish reel “Farewell To Ireland”, which is not played anywhere in the medley. I can also discern no musical link at all between the jig and the other tunes.
Listen for yourself :
https://youtu.be/UKHrK16K5sg

play video

My take on Alasdair Fraser’s version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKHrK16K5sg

play video

IMSLP reference. (link generator has trouble with trailing “)”)
xttps://imslp.org/wiki/Gow’s_Repository_of_the_Dance_Music_of_Scotland_(Gow%2C_Niel)

download “complete score parts 1-4” document #269731
IMSLP269731-PMLP328064-Gows_Repository_of_the_Dance_Music_of_Scotland_bw.pdf

scroll down to page 47 (out of 160), behold “The Highlanders Farewell to Ireland. a Strathspey”, treble clef melody line, bass clef bass line. they are not same as abc settings 1..3 on this page.

that’s the “Gow (Complete Repository), Part 2, 1802; pg. 5” referenced at http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/HIGH.htm

the best I can hear Alasdair Fraser is playing the treble clef dots from IMSLP. cannot tell if Natalie Haas is playing the bass clef dots from IMSLP or not.