Nigel Gatherer wrote: > I'm writing an article about the speed of Scottish tunes using my own > research based on recordings of dance bands, although I've just noticed > that I didn't note any Strathspeys. I've always been under the > impression that a Strathspey would be played slower than a reel, but > looking at 'The Caledonian Companion', Alastair Hardie gives reels at > 120-128, "Most reels, however, will benefit from the less breathless > tempo of 108-116...". He gives the Strathspey tempo as between 126-138, > considerably faster than the reel. He has marches at 92-100, > even-rhythmed hornpipes at 104-112, and uneven-rhythmed hornpipes at > 69-76, which does seem rather slow to me. I'd like to hear your > opinions.
I'm under the impression (without doing much research) that strathspeys have slowed down somewhat over the years. Hugh Thurston, in "Scotland's Dances," quotes Major Edward Topham, in 1775, writing as follows: "Another of the national dances is a kind of quick minuet, or what the Scotch call a 'Straspae.' We in England are said to walk a minuet: this is gallopping a minuet. Nothing of the minuet is preserved except the figure; the step and time most resemble an hornpipe--and I leave you to dwell upon the picture of a gentleman full-dressed and a lady in a hoop dancing an hornpipe before a large assembly." I think he wouldn't have made this observation if he'd encountered the strathspey at the tempos we dance it nowadays. I remember a discussion on the STRATHSPEY mailing list in the last couple years to the effect that even within recent memory the tempo of the Strathspey has slowed down. Writers attributed it mostly to the "graying" of the SCD population but it may also have to do with the trend toward more gracefulness in the step. Some people said they recalled that in the mid-1900s the strathspey tempo was more like what we now do "Glasgow Highlanders" at, ie around 60-66 BPM. (regarding Hardie's tempo for the Strathspey it seems to be double what I'm used to. Do you think he's counting differently?) At any rate, regarding current practice, Barbara McOwen (a great fiddler from San Francisco always in demand for RSCDS functions) writing in 1989 gave these tempi: Reel and jig: 112-120 Strathspey: 60-66; strathspeys with highland setting may require 66 or faster, official Highland Fling tempo is 68. Suzie Petrov (an excellent pianist from Pennsylvania who plays at a lot of RSCDS functions) writing in 2001 gives tempi for the RSCDS versions of these tunes as follows: quick time tunes (jigs, reels & hornpipes): 110-112 Strathspeys: 60 (As an aside, as far as I can tell the Society doesn't differentiate between hornpipes and reels, using them almost interchangeably as tunes for reels (the dance). As I understand it, the Hornpipe as danced historically, requires a much slower tempo due to the complexity of the steps.) I hope this is useful. -Steve -- Steve Wyrick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- Concord, California Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
