> Does anybody know anything about a fiddler called William Cowie from > around the Cumbernauld area - say, late 18th/early 19th Century? A > friend of mine was given a tune-book which originally belonged to Cowie > from the local minister, who'd been rummaging around in some boxes and > came across it. Apparently he worked for the Dundas estate (William > Cowie, not the minister). > Written in as his "favourite strathspey" is "Mifs Lusey Ramsay", which > sounds like a nice tune.
"Lady Lucy Ramsay" from Niel Gow's third collection? I think that tune was written for one of the Ramsays of Dalhousie, who were the neighbours of the Dundases of Arniston, so if Cowie was something like an estate factor, he might have visited Midlothian on business and met the woman it was dedicated to. A complete list of the tunes in the book would give the earliest date it could have been compiled. (So would a watermark, rather quicker if you understand that stuff, which I don't, but if you make a tracing of it I can have a go). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Campin * 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland tel 0131 660 4760 * fax 0870 055 4975 * http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ food intolerance data & recipes, freeware Mac logic fonts, and Scottish music Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
