This is a scan of
a reel from John Anderson's 2nd Collection, 1793. It has
the feel of a pipe tune but adds twists and modality that
likely originated on the fiddle.
Many theorize that
during the 18th and 19th centuries Scottish fiddlers
would have played in a style more akin to our older Cape
Breton ear musicians - especially during those bygone
days when many musicians played both fiddle and pipes. I
have never heard The Small Reel played,
nevertheless it's one that could easily appeal to Cape
Breton or Scottish players.
From Nigel
Jelks I learned
that the tune is played in contemporay Scotland, and that
it was first published in a pipe setting as Sir J. M.
MacKenzie's Reel (Angus MacKay, c. 1844) and that
later, in David Glen's Vol 5 (c. 1889), it appeared with
an alternate title The Dogs Devoured the Pedlar.
In both The Athole Collection, 1884
and
The Skye.
1887, the title used was Dogs Bite
Chapman.
Note both pipe settings
don't use C naturals - inflections that in my mind make
the tune.
Other
Examples of Music
Notation