Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"Niel Gow's Lament For His Second Wife", also known as "Niel Gow’s Lament For The<br> Death Of His Second Wife" is a Scottish slow air in a 6/8 time and D Major.<br> The parts are played AAB (Cranford/Holland, Gow, Hunter, Johnson, Neil), AABB'<br> (Perlman).<br> This air is one of the most celebrated compositions of the famous Scots fiddler and<br> composer Niel Gow (1727-1807). His second wife was Margaret Urquhart of Perth, to<br> whom he was happily married for three decades, the wedding having taken place in 1768.<br> Although all Niel's children were the issue of his first wife, Margaret Wiseman<br> (1730-c. 1766), Margaret Urquhart was welcomed by the family and maintained<br> affectionate relationships with all her stepchildren.<br> After her death in 1805 Niel was grief-stricken and stopped playing for a while,<br> until encouraged to pick up the fiddle again by his family. When he did so, he<br> produced this air. A note below the air in the Gows' Fifth Collection (1809) reads:<br> "They lived together upwards of thirty years; she died two years before him. She had<br> no issue."<br> It was printed in Carlin's The Gow Collection (1986),<br> Cranford's Jerry Holland: The Second Collection (2000),<br> Gow's Fifth Collection of Strapthspeys Reels (1809),<br> Hunter's Fiddle Music of Scotland (1988),<br> Johnson's The Kitchen Musician No. 5: Mostly Irish Airs (1985) (revised 2000),<br> Martin's Ceol na Fidhle, vol. 1 (1991),<br> Neil's The Scots Fiddle (1991),<br> Perlman's The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island (1996) and<br> Purser's Scotland's Music (1992).<br> It was recorded by Wendy MacIssac on The 'Reel' Thing (1994),<br> Alasdair Fraser & Paul Machlis on Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle vol. One (2000),<br> George Wilson on The Royal Circus (2000),<br> Abby Newton on Castles, Kirks and Caves (2001),<br> Ken Pearlman on Northern Banjo,<br> Ron Gonella on Scottish Violin Music from the Gow Collections (1973).<br>
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