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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/A/G)|E4 E2|
E3 BAG|(AB) D2 D2|D3 BAB|G4 G2|GEDE:|
GA|B4 B2|B3 A (B/A/G)|A3 GAB|A4 G2|
B2 d2 e2|g3 edB|A3 GAB|A4 G2|E3 DEG|
B3 A (B/A/G)|g4 g2|g3 fed|B3 ABd|g3 edB|
A3 GAB|e4 e2|e3 BAG|AB E2 E2|E3 e (d/B/A/G/)|
AB D2 D2|D3 (BAB)|G4 G2|GEDE GA|
B4 B2|B3 A (B/A/G)|A3 GAB|A4 G2|
B2 d2 e2|g3 edB|A3 GAB|A4 G2|E3 DEG|
B3 A (B/A/G)|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/a/g)|
a3 gab|a4 g2|e3 deg|b3 a (b/a/g)|ef g2 g2|
g3 fed|B3 ABd|g3 edB|A3 GAB|e4 e2|e3 BAG|
AB E2 E2|E3 e (d/B/A/G/)|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