The Battle Of The Braes barndance

This is one of lovely tunes recorded on Iain MacDonald and Iain MacFarlane’s duet album. I didn’t know much about it, but a bit of research shows it seems a melody taken from the song of the same name: http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_battle.htm It’s a very lighthearted tune to commemorate a bloody event, just like the Kinnegad Slashers.

This tune is found in Highland Bagpipe collections and attributed to Ronald MacKenzie. ‘The Battle of the Braes’ was a sort of riot which occurred south of Portree when around fifty policemen were sent in to evict crofters from Braes but were met by a barrage of stones thrown by the local women (the men being more afraid of the consequences of defying authority); they broke but reformed and attacked the ladies with truncheons, resulting in several bloody heads. The eventual outcome was a national scandal which halted the evictions.

A Youtube video has appeared of the flute player Niall Kenny playing this tune; it is the last tune in the first set

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsY0eod7eQM&feature=user

play video

Billy Pigg’s tune is not the same as the Scottish 2/4 march. It is a 6/8 march that is a very close relation to "Dr. Bett’s Supper", Henderson, 1895, p. 9. The original "Skye Crofters" was published in the same book.

Chords on X:1

This appears in Scots Guards I under the name "The Portree Men" as a 3-part tune. It’s attributed to
"R. Mauchline". The barndance version 1st part posted above is the 3rd part in the Scots Guards setting. The Scots Guards 1st part is lovely, and worth learning. Perhaps someone else can post it.