Challenge: identify this reel

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Hi all. I'm trying to identify a tag of music, probably written for violin, possibly for bagpipes. Key of G, all eighth notes: C/BGD(hi)GBGGB/AFC#AAFC#A/BGD(hi)GBGG(bothlo)G(hi)/ BGDGBGG(lo)G(hi)/ EGEG(all hi)BGG(both lo)
This is a fragment of music on the cover of a music collection by Sullivan Ross, dated 1864. It is a collection, not original compositions, so I hope someone may recognize it.
Thanks for any suggestions!

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@mab3803,

What's the name of the collection? If you have access to the collection, list the song names. Give us more detail so we might be able to identify it in other ways other than Name This Tune.

I just did a search under the name of Sullivan Ross and only came up with Texas governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross.

If you're able to post a photo of the cover, that would help.

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@Butrflynet,

Sullivan Ross was Scottish, I believe, but collected these songs in Ontario - I think Stratford area. There are dozens and dozens of pieces - reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas, schottisches, waltzes, cotillions, songs, etc. Some are well known (Yankee Doodle, Annie Laurie Schottish, O Susannah don't you Cry for me Cotillion) and most I have never heard of (The little house at the foot of the hill, Roaring Jelly Jig, Garry Owen Irish Jig).
I will try to post a photo of the cover. Try being the operative word, as I have not done that before. :-)

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@mab3803,

Quote:

ROSS, Sullivan. Four volumes captaining 1450 tunes, some for the fiddle, but mostly for the bagpipe, including 34 piobaireachd. Complied by Sullivan Ross, a Canadian, between 1860 and 1900. Xerox copy. The originals are in the Museum of Man, Ottawa. Folder contains 5 smaller folders starting with: Vol. 1 has list of 406 tunes all various titles. Vol. 2 has list of 559 tunes various titles. Vol. 3 has list of 287 tunes various titles. Vol. 4 has list of 111 tunes. Separate tune “Macintosh’s Lament” is in the folder. Next small folder is copied book of violin manuscript of strathspeys and reels. Next folder is manuscript of pipe tunes marches, reels, laments, and piobaireachd collected by Sullivan Ross various known titles. Next folder is copied book of various pipe tunes. Last folder is copied music book from S. Ross which contains various pipe tunes.

http://www.piobaireachd.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=59

Have you been in touch with this piobaireachd group?

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

Hi there, ehBeth. I have facsimile copy of this music book - no volume number identified. This is clearly a reel, but just a fragment on the book cover - so no identifying info. Original was with the Ross family, but is now at the Museum of Civilization, I think.

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Try this link to see the title information, including the four bars of music:
http://i523.photobucket.com/albums/w354/redarmy58/titleinfo.jpg
I have shown just the title portion, but you can see the patterned paper that makes up most of the actual cover of this music book.

1 Reply

@mab3803,

The pio... group has some music samples on their website which might help. It looks quite comprehensive.

(g'day to you eh Laughing

)

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@mab3803,

Aha! I found a resource for you. You can contact them by responding to their journal entry which I've excerpted below.

http://pennfana.livejournal.com/34360.html

Quote:

IT'S ALIVE!!!!!
I guess it's about time that I updated this thing, eh? *grin*

August wasn't a bad month, overall. I had a piping gig on the 8th which I was a bit nervous about"I had learned some tunes out of the Sullivan Ross Collection of Pipe Music, which a friend gave me a copy of several months ago. One of Sullivan Ross' grandsons still lives in the Sault, and I was asked to play some of his grandfather's music for him. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, and I've been asked to make a recording of some of the tunes from the book. I'm working on learning them now, and I hope that the results will be satisfactory.

And here's another:

http://things-scottish.blogspot.com/2008/06/highland-games.html

Quote:

Friday, June 6, 2008
Highland Games
Greetings, a message from Embro, Ontario. Embro is north of 401, not far from Woodstock. The website is

http://www.embrohighlandgames.ca/site/1399/default.aspx

Regards, Ron

Our family will be at the Embro Highland Games on July 1. We will have copies of the Sullivan Ross Collection of Pipe Music available. Sullivan Ross (1828-1904) was one of the first bagpipers in Canada to compose pipe music; he lived in Harrington, Ontario his entire adult life. He complied a large four volume collection of pipe tunes during his lifetime. Some of the tunes have gaelic titles. Iain Millington compiled the 134 unpublished tunes from Sullivan's collection, including those composed and arranged by Sullivan Ross, in a single volume. This volume is being awarded as prizes in the piping competion at the Embro Games, July 1, 2008! This collection was recently reviewed in Scotland's The Piping Times and The Voice.

David A. Ross
[email protected]

If those don't work, here's a list of websites of other pipers. Perhaps some of them would be familiar with the beginning notes of the melody.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~emacpher/pipes/pipers.html

2 Replies

@mab3803,

http://i523.photobucket.com/albums/w354/redarmy58/titleinfo.jpg

Is the reference to West Zorra Township? There might be some help there

Embro West Zorra History Book

"Historically Bound" The History of Embro and West Zorra was officially released at a book launch on December 7, 2008, at the Embro West Zorra Community Centre ... link ... click ...

oooh, there's a friend of the hamburgers who might be able to help, but if this is supposed to be something for your dad, you'd have to swear her to secrecy

2 Replies

@Butrflynet,

I've posted a link to the cover image. Don't know if it will help much, but at least you can see the actual music!

0 Replies

@Butrflynet,

Good find, bfly! Obviously still some family in the Embro/West Zorra area.

0 Replies

@ehBeth,

Yes, near Stratford, Ontario. SR is well known for pipe tunes, less well known for violin music. A violin he manufactured is at the Museum of Civilization.

1 Reply

@Butrflynet,

Hey thanks! I will follow up. This book has violin music rather than pipe music, but there is a lot of crossover. Someone who knows pipe music may well be able to help.
Cheers.

1 Reply

@mab3803,

I spent a lot of time in the area back in the early 1980's when I was doing EA. We were based out of Stratford.

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@mab3803,

The extra info helped a lot. Thanks for making the searching job easier. I did a search using (bagpipe violin"Sullivan Ross" Ontario) and came up with the same site that ehbeth found. When I just used (bagpipes "Sullivan Ross") that produced a goldmine. I tried doing the same thing with just using violin and again with just fiddle but didn't find anything new.

I think those bagpipe bloggers will be your best resource.

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@ehBeth,

Hello, this is Dave Ross, Sullivan Ross' great grandson. I still have copies of his bagpipe music collection available.

My email: [email protected]. Slainte!
Mailing address:
8022 Big Buck Lane
Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601

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Dear Sullivan Ross fans,

Colin Blyth (Kingston, Ontario) is working on a publication of Sullivan Ross' violin tunes.

Sincerely, David Ross

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@mab3803,

Hi,
I contacted Colin Blyth (Kingston, Ontario) who is transcribing and writing a book on Sullivan Ross' violing music. This is Colin's reply: "I reported that John Donald Cameron identifies it as "Johnny's made a Waddin o'et" or "Johnny's made a Weddin o'et" in later collections. I had checked that it is not in the collection, so had asked John Donald about it." John Donald is a violin tune scholar who is assisting Dr. Blyth with his book on Sullivan Ross. I am Sullivan Rosses grandson. Glad to assist. Sincerely, Dave Ross

1 Reply

@David Ross,

Hi Dave Ross. mab is related to Dr. Blyth. Small world, eh.

0 Replies

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