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Port Atholl waltz

There are 6 recordings of this tune.

Port Atholl has been added to 20 tunebooks.

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One setting

1
X: 1
T: Port Atholl
R: waltz
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
D2 |: GA | B4 B2 | B3 A (B/2A/2G) |E4 E2 |
E3 BAG | (AB) D2 D2 | D3 BAB | G4 G2 | GEDE:|
GA | B4 B2 | B3 A (B/2A/2G) | A3 GAB |A4 G2 |
B2 d2 e2 | g3 edB | A3 GAB | A4 G2 | E3 DEG |
B3 A (B/2A/2G) | g4 g2 | g3 fed | B3 ABd | g3 edB |
A3 GAB | e4 e2 | e3 BAG | AB E2 E2 | E3 e (d/2B/2A/2G/2) |
AB D2 D2 | D3 (BAB) | G4 G2 | GEDE GA |
B4 B2 | B3 A (B/2A/2G) | A3 GAB |A4 G2 |
B2 d2 e2 | g3 edB | A3 GAB | A4 G2 | E3 DEG |
B3 A (B/2A/2G) | g4 g2 | g3 fed | B3 ABd | g3 edB |
A3 GAB | e4 e2 | e3 bag | ab d2 d2 |
d3 bab | g4 g2 | gedega | b4 b2 | b3 a (b/2a/2g) |
a3 gab | a4 g2 | e3 deg | b3 a (b/2a/2g) | ef g2 g2 |
g3 fed | B3 ABd | g3 edB | A3 GAB | e4 e2 | e3 BAG |
AB E2 E2 | E3 e (d/2B/2A/2G/2) | AB D2 D2 | D3 BAB |
G4 G2 | GEDE :| "Trill and fade..." GA ({A}G4 | G6) ||

Three comments

Actually played rather slowly…

I first met this tune on Chris Norman’s Caledonian Flute Cd where he plays it on an A Flute I think. Finding the notes in the Dow collection set me to learning it and I now play it as noted here. The timing of the groups of three notes, eg. B4 B2 B3 in the second bar is a bit like an echo, or the ringing of a bell.

While playing this I like to think of the seashore on the north west coast of Scotland on a nice sunny summer day with no one else around.

I use this as a bit of a solo party piece, usually using the Boehm flute for it and hamming up the long notes.

I no longer necessarily use the Boehm Flute for this one. My Windward Flute works quite well.

Re: Port Atholl

I had a go at Port Atholl today, on Tenor Guitar & English Concertina.

It is a C17th Scottish tune which was first published in the Balcarres Lute Manuscript in Fife, in 1700.

Some believe that the Harp player & composer Ruaidhrí Dall Ó Catháin, from Co. Derry in Ulster, composed this tune. In any case, whoever composed this tune, it was certainly composed for the Duke of Atholl.

Port Atholl:
http://earlygaelicharp.info/tunes/portatholl/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmGEHJ8JPyI


Cheers,
Dick