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Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday strathspey

Also known as Lady Elgin’s Courtship.

There are 3 recordings of this tune.

Lady Madelina Sinclair's Birthday has been added to 15 tunebooks.

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Four settings

1
X: 1
T: Lady Madelina Sinclair's Birthday
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|: F |\
G2 D>G B,>GD>G | G2 B>G F<AA<B |\
G2 D>G B,>GD>G | (3FGA A>c B<GG :|
|: d |\
(3GGG B>G d>GB<g | G2 (3BAG F<AA<B |\
[1 (3GGG B>G d>GB>G | (3FGA (3ABc B<GG :|
[2 G>BA>c B>dc>e | (3d^cd (3gd=c B<GG |]
2
X: 2
T: Lady Madelina Sinclair's Birthday
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Cdor
K: BbMaj
|: A |\
B2 F>B D>BF>B | B2 d>B A<cc<d |\
B2 F>B D>BF>B | (3ABc c>e d<BB :|
|: f |\
(3BBB d>B f>Bd<b | B2 (3dcB A<cc<d |\
[1 (3BBB d>B f>Bd<B | (3ABc (3cde d<BB :|
[2 B>dc>e d>fe>g | (3f^ef (3bf=e d<BB |]
3
X: 3
T: Lady Madelina Sinclair's Birthday
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Cdor
K: BbMaj
|: d |\
B2 FB DBFB | B2 d/c/B Accd |\
B2 FB DBFB | A/B/c ce dBB :|
|: d |\
B/B/B dB fBdB | B/B/B dB Accd |\
[1 B/B/B dB fBdB | A/B/c ce dBB :|
[2 BBcc ddee | ffbf dBB |]
4
X: 4
T: Lady Madelina Sinclair's Birthday
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|: B |\
G2 DG B,GDG | G2 B/A/G FAAB |\
G2 DG B,GDG | F/G/A Ac BGG :|
|: B |\
G/G/G BG dGBG | G/G/G BG FAAB |\
[1 G/G/G BG dGBG | F/G/A Ac BGG :|
[2 GGAA BBcc | ddgd BGG |]

Nine comments

"Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday"

This is notated in the Athole and Skye collections as a reel, but in keeping with that common cross over, a melody going from reel to strathspey, I’m fond of it with swing and snap, as a strathspey. It is also notated in those collections in Bb, but loving the lower realms I’ve given it here in G. I’ll add and take or two of the Bb reel later, and link the two, and add transcriptions of the melody from earlier sources.

There are also the unavoidable influences of highland flings and Cape Breton fiddling (a favourite fiddler Winston Scotty Fitzgerald played this as a Bb reel) on me that are probably good reasons why this melody comes to me this way.

Here are some other possibilities with the second ending, first as given ~

[2 G>BA>c B>dc>e | (3d^cd (3gd=c B<GG ||

[2 G>GA>A B>Bc>c | d>dg<d B<GG ||

[2 (3GGG A2 (3BBB c>e | (3ddd g>d B<GG ||

~ | (3GBG D>G B>GD>G | ~ for D limited winds…

For flutes and whistles in D, or if you choose using an F whistle and playing it with the same fingering (=Bb), you will know this anyway, but you can play bars 1 & 3 of the A-part with that low B, taken an octave higher, as given…

"Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday" ~ the reel

Key signature: Bb Major
Submitted on August 5th 2007 by ceolachan
https://thesession.org/tunes/7582

~ & offering some other options for both…

"Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday" ~ the strathspey transposed up to Bb

X: 2
T: Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: strathspey
K: Bb Major, transposed up from G
|: A |
B2 F>B D>BF>B | B2 d>B A<cc<d |
B2 F>B D>BF>B | (3ABc c>e d<BB :|
|: f |
(3BBB d>B f>Bd<b | B2 (3dcB A<cc<d |
[1 (3BBB d>B f>Bd<B | (3ABc (3cde d<BB :|
[2 B>dc>e d>fe>g | (3f^ef (3bf=e d<BB |]

Here are some other options ~

* the second ending, first as given ~

[2 B>dc>e d>fe>g | (3f^ef (3bf=e d<BB ||
[2 B>Bc>c d>de>e | f>fb<f d<BB ||
[2 (3BBB c2 (3ddd e>g | (3fff b>f d<GG ||

* bars 1 & 3 of the A-part:

~ | (3BdB F>B d>BF>B | ~

Sorry folks, it seems the reel and it’s transcriptions were deleted, considered no different than the strathspey… 😏

~ & gone too is the other information that was given in the ‘comments’…

"Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday" ~ Athole / Skye ~ Bb & G

X: 1134
T: Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday
S: “The Athole Collection”, James Stewart Robertson, 1884
S: “The Skye Collection”, Keith Norman MacDonald, 1887
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Bb Major
|: d |
B2 FB DBFB | B2 d/c/B Accd |
B2 FB DBFB | A/B/c ce dBB :|
|: d |
B/B/B dB fBdB | B/B/B dB Accd |
[1 B/B/B dB fBdB | A/B/c ce dBB :|
[2 BBcc ddee | ffbf dBB |]

K: G Major ~ transposed from Bb Major
|: B |
G2 DG B,GDG | G2 B/A/G FAAB |
G2 DG B,GDG | F/G/A Ac BGG :|
|: B |
G/G/G BG dGBG | G/G/G BG FAAB |
1 G/G/G BG dGBG | F/G/A Ac BGG :|
2 GGAA BBcc | ddgd BGG ||

"Winston Fitzgerald: A Collection of Fiddle Tunes" ~ Bb

Compiled and edited by Paul Stewart Cranford
Cranford Publications, Cape Breton Island, 1997
http://www.cranfordpub.com/
ISBN: 0-9691181-7-1

Page 45, tune #110: "Lady Madelina Sinclair’s Birthday"
A transcription from his playing of the reel in Bb…

Note: This tune was a favourite of Mary ‘Hughie’ MacDonald. Winston played some of his best music with Mary’s daughter, pianist Mary Jessie MacDonald. (3 gifted musicians)

The Fiddler’s Companion ~ Andrew Kuntz

http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/index.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/LADYM_LADYS.htm

LADY MADELINA SINCLAIR’S BIRTHDAY. AKA and see “Lady Elgin’s Courtship.” Scottish, Reel. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AB (Surenne): AAB (Athole, Cranford, Gow): AABB’ (Kerr). Lady Madelina Sinclair (1772-1847) was the second daughter of Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, and William Marshall’s employer and patron. Her second husband was named Palmer (See note for “Lady Madelina Sinclair” for more). ~

Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 266. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 110, pg. 45. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 203, pg. 23. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 135. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 60. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 284. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland); pg. 34. WMT002, Wendy MacIsaac – “That’s What You Get” (1998?).