The Atholl Highlanders
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"The Atholl Highlanders", also known as "Athol Highlanders Jig", "Duke of Atholl's March",<br> "Highland Fabrick", "Lord Athlone's March" and "The Three Sisters" (Shetland) is a Scottish<br> (originally) and Irish pipe march (in 6/8 time) or jig in A Mixolydian (Brody, Hinds, Martin,<br> Neil, Ross, Songer, Sweet) or G Major (Kerr). The parts are played AABB (Kerr), AABB' (Neil),<br> AABBCCDD (Brody, Hinds, Martin, Songer), ABCD (Sweet) or AABB'CCDD'EEFF (Ross).<br> The name Athole (or Atholl) derives from the Gaelic "ath Fodla", generally translated as New<br> Ireland and stems from the first invasion of the northern land by the Irish tribe the Scots in<br> the 7th century. The tune, described sometimes as a Scottish warpipes melody, is dedicated to the<br> private army of the Duke of Atholl, the last private army still legally existing (albeit on a<br> token level) in the British Isles.<br> When pipers were introduced in 1881 they recollected their Perthshire<br> origins and chose to play "The Atholl Highlanders" (also known in pipe literature as<br> "The Gathering of the Grahams"). The tune is associated in modern times with the dance called<br> "The Duke of Gordon's Reel", so much so that Scottish dance musicians will sometimes call<br> "Atholl Highlanders" by the name "Duke of Gordon's Reel" (despite the fact that "Atholl<br> Highlanders" is a jig, but referring to 6/8 time tunes as 'reels' is an old convention in Scotland.<br> An early printing of the tune in Jane Morison's Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 1 (No. 19),<br> where it appears as "Duke of Atholl's March". A still earlier version of the melody appears as<br> "Highland Fabrick" in Henry Colclough's tutor for the uilleann pipes (c. 1830).<br> In Shetland the tune is called by the title "The Three Sisters". Susan Songer notes that when<br> played for contra dances once through the tune is twice through a dance.<br> It was printed in Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983),<br> Hinds/Hebert's Grumbling Old Woman (1981) (appears as "Athol Highlanders Jig"),<br> Kerr's Merry Melodies, vol. 3 (c. 1880's),<br> Martin's Ceol na Fidhle, vol. 1 (1991),<br> Neil's The Scots Fiddle (1991),<br> William Ross's Ross's Collection of Pipe Music (1869),<br> Songer's Portland Collection (1997) and<br> Sweet's Fifer's Delight (1964).<br> It was recorded by Graham Townsend on Graham Townsend, Champion Folk Fiddler,<br> Mairead Ní Mhaonaigh & Frankie Kennedy on Ceol Aduaidh (1983/1994),<br> Ciaran Tourish et al. on Fiddle Sticks: Irish Traditional Music from Donegal (1991),<br> Boys of the Lough on Piper's Broken Finger (1976),<br> Dave Swarbrick on Swarbrick 2 and<br> Bob Smith's Ideal Band on Better Than an Orchestra (1977).<br>
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