Strathspey (dance)

Strathspey referred to Scottish country dancing and the associated piece of music. Characteristic is the strict rhythm with many dotted notes and " scotch snaps " ( sixteenth notes followed by dotted eighths, Lombard rhythm). It basically consists of fourfold clocks and is listed in 4/4-time. The Scottish Country Dance and Highland Dancing Strathspey are still dancing.

History

The Strathspey was probably originally in the same region (Gaelic Srath SPE, " the valley of the Spey "). The first written record is often called Zachary Boyd's "The History of John the Baptist " from 1653. After Emmerson Flett and the indistinct manuscript was read wrong here though. In fact, the word Strathspey first appeared in the 18th century in a musical context. First, the name was used as adjectives: To 1749 there was talk of " Strathspey Reels ". Thus, a term coined by fiddle players style of reels was called, which was punctured much sharper than the Pipe Reel.

The first notation of Strathspeys appeared in 1751 in James Oswald's " Caledonian Pocket Companion " under the title "A New Strathspey Reel ". The first collection, which bears the name of Strathspey in the title, is Daniel Dow's "Thirty -seven new reels and strathspeys " ( 1775 ). In the following decades the Strathspey experienced together with the Reel his heyday. Scottish Fiddler as William Marshall (1748-1833), Niel Gow (1727-1807) and his son Nathaniel Gow (1766-1831) further develop the Strathspey to a complicated, stand-alone form and published 1780-1820 numerous collections of Strathspeys. From today's perspective is hard to decide which were the countless pieces of new compositions and arrangements by which older tunes.

Many of these pieces are still played today. An example is " Monymusk ". This Strathspey is first found in Daniel Dow's collection under the title " Sir Archibald Grant of Monemusk ", then among other things, in 1786 as " Sir Archd. Grant 's Reel ", 1799 Niel Gow as " Monny Musk " and since 1778 in many collections as " Monymusk ".

In the 19th century the popularity of Strathspeys and thus the number of publications decreased. During this period may be mentioned only James Scott Skinner, the " Strathspey King" (1843-1927), who continued to compose Strathspeys and Reels and published.

Dance

The Strathspeys was dancing from the beginning, at first probably the usual characters of the reels, at least since 1749 but also contra dances. In the " Menzies Manuscript" there are two contra dances, which are referred to as "a Strathspey Reele ": " The Montgomerie 's Rant " and " Couteraller 's Rant ".

" The Montgomerie 's Rant a Strathspey Reele 1st pair goes back to back casts off & then back to back again & 2d woman casts up, & the man down, then reels above & below then the 1st pair sets hand in hand to the woman then 2d to the 3d one then to the 3d woman & then to the 2d one; then leads out att the sides "

How looked the steps to is not known. An impression conveys a remark by the Englishman Edward Topham on a visit to Edinburgh in 1775:

" 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 to hornpipe -. and I leave you to dwell upon the picture of a gentleman full- dressed and a lady in a hoop dancing at hornpipe before a large assembly "

Topham is called here the Strathspey a kind of " fast minuet " and compares step and pace with a hornpipe. The English go a dance, the Scots gallop him. During this time, Strathspeys were, therefore, as the reels, dancing rather quickly. During this time composed Strathspeys often carried the statement " WHEN NOT slow danced " (slow, if not dance ). Strathspeys were played by the fiddlers also like lyrical than " show -piece " ( showpiece ) - for the former dance moves too slowly.

A few decades later, the pace of the dance and probably also alters the steps had. Thomas Wilson, a London dance teacher, in his "Complete System of English Country Dancing " (London 1811) gives the pace of Strathspeys with Andante to - because of the nature of the steps ( " Strathspeys, from the nature of Their Steps, will be Uniformly Andante "). Reels were faster, Allegro.

The extent to which the steps of the 19th century were comparable to the Strathspey - steps of the modern Scottish Country Dance, is not to say. Today, the preferred tempo is about 120 bpm ( quarter notes per minute). On Cape Breton, where the Gaelic music of the 18th century has gotten better, Strathspeys be played much faster. The pace of Step dance - Strathspeys is there at 176-184 bpm.

Highland Dancing

Even in the modern Highland Dancing Strathspeys are danced. The structure of the dance is similar to the Highland Reel, but the steps are different, the pace is much lower. The dance is always danced by four dancers. It consists of a Travelling figure (bars 1-8), corresponding to the reel of four, and the setting (bars 9-16 ). When setting will be danced by every dancer for themselves Steps of the Highland Fling. The Strathspey is never danced on its own, but it always followed by a reel. The transition is triggered after a specified number of cycles without interruption, with a distinct change of pace.

Also, the Highland Fling, a solo dance is danced to Strathspey tunes. The pace of Strathspeys as the Highland Fling is 124 bpm.

Pipe music

Joseph MacDonald describes in 1760 in his "Complete theory of the Scots Highland Bagpipe " the dotted Strathspey rhythm ( without the name to use ) than typical Fiddle Reel - in contrast to the less punctured, " rounder " Pipe Reel. Only gradually was the Strathspey entrance to the pipe music. First, here the famous fiddle pieces were simply taken over. The first examples of this are " Monymusk ", " Tullochgorum " and "The Bridge of Perth " in Donald MacDonald's collections of 1822 and 1828th

During this time, Strathspey and Reel as folk and social dances were already displaced by more modern dances such as the waltz. In the Pipe music they were still played, danced and often without it. After initially competitions was only played Ceol mór, it was from about 1830 prices for marches and dance music. Soon were on Competitions Strathspey & Reel sets played regularly ( a combination that is also common in some Highland Dances ), and finally today a must on pipe band and solo the March Strathspey & Reel sets were common, competitions include.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Competition developed type strathspey: Old Strathspeys, the (2 × 8 bars ) originally comprised two parts, were four and extended several parts. An example is " Blair Drummond ": This piece was published in 1760 as a 2-Part -Reel, today it is a popular 6 -part Strathspey, which is played at competitions regularly. In addition, have been and are to this day composing new Strathspeys.

The competition marches, strathspeys and reels have far from its original purpose as a march or dance music and evolved into its own form of music. In particular, they have become slower with increasing complexity: the today usual pace is about 72-80 bpm for marches, 112-120 bpm for Strathspeys and Reels for 76-84 bpm. The Strathspeys - as today most slowly performed pieces - are the least affected: they hardly differ from the Highland Dancing played pieces and are at this pace easily danceable.

Strathspeys in Irish Folk

During the Strathspey time was confined almost to the fiddle and pipe music of the Scottish Highlands, he enjoys today in the entire Celtic music scene growing in popularity and will be transferred to other instruments (eg accordion, flute or guitar). The Strathspey is still loved to play as a "show -piece ", as he is considered one of the more complicated melody forms of Celtic music. Here you will find occasionally Strathspeys, which are listed in measures such as 3/8 or 12/16.

In Ireland there for Strathspeys and related Tune- types a bewildering number of names: Highland Fling, Scottish.

Highland is a common particularly in Donegal name. The name is a shortened form of Scottish Highland, a pair of dance that emerged around 1855 in Scotland and in turn goes back to the German Scots. J. Scott Skinner has published some pieces that are explicitly overwritten as "Scottish or Strathspey "; the same note set could thus be played as a Strathspey or Scottish.

Fling is the short form of Highland Fling, so not an original piece of music but a dance that is danced to Strathspey tunes. This name is common in the south and west of Ireland.

On the whole, the Scottish names, Fling, Highland Scottish, Highland Fling or Highland simply be used almost interchangeably in Ireland - and denote a slightly faster version of Strathspeys. The pace of Irish Highlands and Strathspeys amounts to 176 bpm. Overall, this tune- types are rather rare in the Irish folk.