Some notes on Leslie's March

 The Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club has retired its newsletter, but if you have an idea for an article, we'll post it here in our blog, which will then be reposted to Facebook.

Inaugurating this, David Anker has given us some great info on the tune Leslie's March:

Hi fellow Scottish fiddlers,

Happy New Year, y'all!

I greatly enjoyed our jam session last month, where one of the tunes played was "Leslie's March". Some of you may recall that I asked (via Chat) whether this march had a connection with the Battle of Marston Moor, the largest battle of the English Great Civil War.  Since no one had a definite answer there, I decided to research it.  I found a book entitled "Scottish Songs Prior to Robert Burns" online.  Here is the URL for it:

           https://deriv.nls.uk/dcn23/9449/94499987.23.pdf 

You can see that on p. 32 of this book, there is a song "General Leslie's March to Longmarston Moor", and the musical score for it is very similar to our tune "Leslie's March" on page V-31.  The tune in the book is essentially our tune with some ornamentation added.

This is one of those Scottish tunes which have some history connected with them.  In this case, it is very

important history -- clearly very important in English history and, arguably, very important in the history of the development of Constitutional government in the English-speaking world, and even in the history of Constitutional government in the world as a whole.  The English Great Civil War, in which Parliament defeated the crown, established limits on Royal power and Royalty's dependence on Parliament.

This war was an English civil war much more than a Scottish civil war.  There was an influential group of 

Scottish aristocrats called the Covenanters, and apparently both sides in this civil war sought for the help of the Covenanters.  It was the Roundheads (Parliamentarians) who got this help at a critical time, when it looked as if the Cavaliers (Royalists) were close to winning.  It was at the Battle of Marston Moor that there were 3 armies on the Roundhead side and two armies on the Cavalier side, and one of those 3 armies was provided by the Covenanters, and lead by Alexander Leslie.

The circumstances surrounding the interactions of the Covenanters and other Scots with the two English sides were complicated, and partly involved the Church in the two kingdoms and its place in the power structure of society.  For certain historical reasons, the English preferred their church to be subordinate to the state, whereas the Scots preferred the reverse.  The historian G. M. Trevelyan in his "History of England" describes this and how, at the crucial juncture when the Roundheads desperately needed help from the Scots, these differences were papered over with ambiguous language in a written agreement (called "The Solemn League and Covanant") whereby the Roundheads got this help.  See the attached file for a brief description of these events.

A number of the songs in the book have historical significance, including "The Flowers of the Forest", which we also had.

    

Please feel free to forward this to anyone who you know personally and who you think might be interested. 

     With best wishes for a happy New Year,

     David Anker 

Thanks, David!

The Jam is BACK!

Scottish Jam Session This Coming Sunday, November 18th from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at The Mad Fox Brewing Company in Falls Church, VA!

Looking for something to do this coming Sunday afternoon?

Because the JAM IS BACK! Thanks to Seán Heely, Amy Lees Fox, Jason Fox, and Tracy Jenkins for organizing this event.
 

A lively celebration of Scottish folk music with local musicians, featuring national champion fiddlers, Gaelic singers, and members of local pipe bands. Come to play or to listen and enjoy a pint from our local brewery. Kilts welcome.

Come all fiddles, pipes, guitars, whistles, bodhrans, mandolins, bouzouki, and other trad instruments to play for an open jam session on Scottish tunes, classic to modern. Or just come to listen and enjoy a fine ale or a wee dram (or some great food)! Although this is an intermediate-to-advanced session, all are welcome.

The DC-area Scottish jam will be at its new home, the Mad Fox Brewing Company (http://madfoxbrewing.com). Mad Fox is located at 444 West Broad Street, Suite I. Parking is easy - use their free underground garage.

The Jam will be from 2-5 PM.

See you all there!

We're combining the DC Jam with the Fiddle Club Jam!

Greetings, folks,

With the holidays being what they are, I haven't had a chance yet to hunt for a new permanent home for the jam, and I may want to discuss some issues like time and night of the week with the regulars to hopefully find us a location that will be more hospitable in the long term.

But we have the next best thing for January - I will be hosting the monthly meeting of the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club at my home in Franconia VA on Sunday 1/14/2018, just 5 minutes away from where we used to meet at Fiona's, and I'd like to combine the jam that happens at the end with the DC-Area Scottish Jam.

The Fiddle Club meeting begins at 2:30 PM with a workshop by 1995 US Scottish Fiddle Champion Elke Baker. We are typically taught 3 tunes by ear, and then 6-8 by sheet music. At about 5:30 we break for a potluck dinner (which will, this month, feature my famous venison stew), and at about 7:00 we convert to a Scottish jam session.

Full information about the meeting, including the location and a map, are to be found at http://www.potomacvalleyscottishfiddle.org, so check it out and come on over. Bring a dish for the potluck and a folding chair in case we run out!

Be forewarned: we do have cats in the house, so folks with allergies should take the necessary precautions/meds. We also have a piano available, so if anyone wants to tickle the ivories, you're in luck.

Cheers,
Peter

December Jam is at a private residence, but it's still on!

Our next jam will be this coming Sunday, 12/17, at a private residence in Great Falls, so I won't be posting the address publicly. Please email me at mail-admin@potomacvalleyscottishfiddle.org for the location.

The jam will start with the song circle at 1 PM as usual, and the jam at 2 PM, but will be BYOB. The hostess, Linda Cameron, will be providing snacks.

I'll be creating an event soon, as well as getting the word out through the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club mailing lists.

Sorry for the late notice; I got hit with a major bug in a recent OS update and my home computer is temporarily borked!

The Scottish Jam Session is on hold until we find a new home

 

It's with great regret that I have to report that Fiona's has decided they no longer want to host the Scottish Jam Session. I'm not sure why, in total, but I suspect that part of it had to do with the jam wasn't bringing in the same revenue that private parties using the same room were bringing. In short, we aren't eating and drinking enough.

I'm going to begin the search for a new location for 2018, and until we have a home, the jam is on hold. We've had an offer to host in a home for the December meeting, and if I decide to accept, I'll pass along that info.

If you know of a pub in the area that might be willing to host us, please let me know.

Until we have a chance to settle into a new place, however, we will be taking a break. I'm hoping to have a new home by March, and even February if we're lucky.

If you want a fix of Scottish music, check out the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club - I will be hosting the January meeting in my home!

We need a new home. Here's what happened at Fiona's for the November jam.

It's with great regret that I have to report that Fiona's has decided they no longer want to host the Scottish Jam Session. I'm not sure why, in total, but I suspect that part of it had to do with the jam wasn't bringing in the same revenue that private parties using the same room were bringing. In short, we aren't eating and drinking enough.

I'm going to begin the search for a new location for 2018, and until we have a home, the jam is on hold. We've had offers to host in a home for the December meeting, and if I decide to accept, I'll pass along that info.

If you know of a pub in the area that might be willing to host us, please let me know.

So here's what happened.

I arrived for the jam early, to have lunch, and when I told the host why I was there, he hesitated and told me he was getting the manager. Turned out to be the owner. The owner told me they were not going to honor our reservation for the room, and wanted us to play out on the blustery patio. I said that was not reasonable, for the sake of the instruments, and tried to negotiate. I got him to agree to let us *maybe* have part of the time we had reserved, because the previous group wouldn't be done and another had been booked starting at 4:30. I asked about the bar area, and was told we couldn't use that space because the three open tables there were also reserved. I was told that the bumping of our reservation was a "matter of revenue".

I said I'd wait outside to let the song circle people know what was going on and wait until we could get in the room. When I went outside, I was ignored by the waitstaff, and it seemed like they were not going to accommodate us, and if I were going to get the word out, I had to go home immediately.

Apparently between the time I dashed home to put the word out to cancel the jam and when 2 PM rolled around, the manager relented and gave the room to the group and the jam happened without me.

After making the above info public on Facebook, however, Fiona's owner contacted me and ended our arrangement with them formally - though it was pretty clear he was done with us when I showed up on the day. I don't know what went wrong. We loved that place, and heard nothing but good things from the manager (Amber) and the staff. But the owner is the owner, so we are out.

October Jam Tunes

Here, belatedly, are the tunes we sang & played for the October jam:

Gaelic Song Circle:
Brochan Lom

’S ann an Ile

Ribinean Riabhach

Fear an Dùin Mhòir

O Luaidh

Smeorach le Chlann Domhnuill mi

He man du

Chi mi na mor-bheanna

Jam Session:

Celtic Thunder

Neil Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife

Spey in Spate

Spootiskerry/Willafjord/Sleep Soond ida Moarnin/Jack Broke da Prison Door/Bonnie Isle of Whalsey/Oot Be Est da Vong/Donald Blue/Da Faroe Rum

Trip to Pakistan

Calliope House/Andy DeJarlis' Jig/The New Fiddle/Hull's Reel, Road to Errogie/All the Rage 

The Smith's a Gallant Fireman/Mor a' Cheannaich/Atholl Brose/Barrowburn Reel

Flowers of Edinburgh/Statten Island/Jackie Tar/Loch Leven Castle/Tongadale Rel/Knockdhu Reel

Skye Dance #27/The Shetland Fiddler/The Easy Club

Lochaanside

Trip to Market/Union Street Public House/Rannie MacLellan

Stirling Castle/Tail Toddle/High Drive

The Roaring Barmaid/The Road to Banff/The Blackberry Festival Footrace/The Famous Baravan

Arran Boat Song/Bonnie at Morn

Willie Davie/Lexy McAskill/Jenny Dang the Weaver/The Ale is Dear/The High Road to Linton

Free Falling

Volcanic Jig

David's Jig/Steveo's Jig

Lieutenant Maguire/Jig Runrig/The Atholl Highlanders

Stool of Repentance/The Muckin' o' Geordie's Byre

My Cape Breton Home