Reading this reminded me of something. Jimmy Allan was the reason I had Bill
Hedworth make me a 7 key chanter. I couldn't play it on a simple one and I
rather liked the tune.
I'd forgotten about that until this reminded me.
Colin Hill
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barry Say" <[email protected]>
To: "nsp" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 8:17 PM
Subject: [NSP] Jimmy Allan traditional (?)
Hi All,
This is a follow-up to an earlier e-mail.
As editor of the NPS Magazine, I was well aware of the content of
Chris Ormston's article well before the NPS membership or the wider
piping community. I refrained from commenting on it or saying
anything related to it until the magazine was published. However, it
set me thinking. As an exercise, I tried to think of old tunes which
would serve as initial targets for beginner pipers.
In the course of this, Jimmy Allan sprang to mind, but I found that
it did not appear in the Peacock Collection, Bewick Book, or the
Vickers collection and to my surprise, it did not appear in the first
edition of the Northumbrian Pipers' Tunebook (1936) nor in the
Fiddler's Tunebook(1951/54) edited by Peter Kennedy.
Peter Kennedy was a pivotal figure in the traditional music scene in
the 1950s and 60s and worked extensively in the North-East and is
probably the person most responsible for making the music of the
North-East of England available to the whole of England in that
period. I do not intend this as either praise or criticism.
I had always assumed from its name that it was part of the
Northumbrian tradition, but I am beginning to suspect that we have
been deceived by our own willingness to believe that which seems
convenient.
The tune as we know it appears in the EFDSS Community dance manual
volume 6 on a page with two tunes composed in 1961. The copyright
dates would indicate that it was publised in 1964 or 1967. I cannot
lay my hands on my copy of this but I amn sure that this publication
was certainly part of Peter Kennedy's sphere of influence, but the
fact that it does not appear in the first two volumes of the Fiddlers
Tunebook, would indicate that he was unaware of it in 1951 and had
found it by 1964.
The Reel of Tullochgorum is almost certainly the same tune but is
reckoned to be in D. It was published by Ian Powrie, apparently in
the late 1950s and it seems that he claimed that it was a traditional
tune which he had collected. Ian lived in Perthshire - so that is the
first place we would suspect.
Now we come to the important link. Ian Powrie lead a Scottish Dance
Band which appeared on the 'White Heather Club', a television program
which I know was available in the North East (of England), because I
saw it.
So - unless someone can come up with some other evidence - the best
story I can come up with is that:
----------------
Ian Powrie collected the 'Reel of Tullochgorum' in North-East
Scotland.
A Northumbrian musician picked
it up through the White Heather Club (or some other route)
It was adopted by the Northumbrian piping community who would insist
on playing it in nominal 'G'.
-------------------------------
I have mentioned some of this to Matt Seattle, who, at the time I
contacted him, had no recollection of finding Jimmy Allan or any
related tunes in his researches.
If any list members can cast any further light on this, I would be
most grateful.
Barry
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