A Collection of Strathspey Reels &c.
by McLaren, Daniel

Full title: A Collection of Strathspey Reels &c. With a Bass for the Violoncello or Harpsichord Dedicated by Permission to Miss Dr. Grant by Daniel McLaren

Publisher: For the Author

Printer: Edinburgh Printed for the Author

Date: 1794

Description:

Good tunes: the GB-En copy has a subscriber list including many musicians including Nathaniel Gow, McGlashan, Shepherd, Daniel Robertson, Stabilini, Natale Corri and Charles Stewart. This copy also has pencil annotations to titles.
'Miss Sally Bartlett's Jig' starts with a long note: she lived at Edinburgh Castle according to subscriber list. 'The Earl of Bradalbane's Delight' has a rare wrong note in the tune. There are some Gaelic titles and Irish tunes.

Notes:

The four-beat basslines are full of interest, often using stock patterns but with variety. There are intriguing bowing and/or articulation marks in 'Mr Jo. Reid's Reel' (p3), and a few variation sets, including 'Reel of Tulloch' with a plain repetitive bass.
There is liberal use of the mediant as a bass note, and one 3/4 tune with variations and its Corelli-inspired jig have figured basses.
On the back page 'The Moss House, Logiealmond. by Miss Macdonald, St. Martins' is a rondo with a minore section in E flat minor (with a k-s of 6 flats). The final tune 'Miss Louisa Drummond Logiealmond's Reel' is chromatic in places.
'Tulloch Gorum' has four strains in total, and a simple bassline in octaves. 'The Berwickshire Militia' etc. have unusually static basslines compared to others.

RISM: M78

Gore: MC22

Biographical info: A fiddler/composer from Taymouth, Perthshire, McLaren published his own music from his house in Bell's Wynd, Edinburgh at the end of the 18th century. (Glen 2, xvi) His name is also spelled Maclaren.

Location(s):

GB-DUcl 10499 (listed as Donald McLaren)
GB-En Glen 288 (1)
GB-Ep (info from RISM)
GB-P Be63

Digitised items

This source has not been digitised.