it's dying a death here in scotland believe me ex pats are keeping our traditions alive more so than us, i cant remember a step it's scary, im 41 and watching so much fade away. my whole life never found a teacher of pipes. im always just outside cities and being an adult and tuition prices top be a piper here is a lottery win. to learn gaelic even being a west scot , travel to glasgow or live on the islands, my ancestors gaelic arran twang is supposed to be a dead dialect now. we are wasting faster than the irish, my irish foster mother predicted this and thought sending me to read at the library would magically have me salvage scots gaelic. have you seen scots gaelic written on a page? then hear a scots gael speak it.? i am still a sassenach tongue. sadly. a wee scottish sassenach, foreign in my own land
keeping in mind i was born in strathclyde which spoke a variation of welsh around about the time my ancestors were recorded in scotland would have had a variation of gaelic norse and welsh. i speak none. of them lol
I am so happy to see this dance which l danced in my primary school in Penang, Malaysia taught by by english teacher Mrs Nicholas from Scotland. Thank you utube.
I remember this from the 1950s on Hogmanay Night on BBC tv. I was a young teenager who couldn´t stand óld´ music but I liked Jimmy Shand and his band because he looked a nice bloke and the music was lively. The kind of music that lasts for ever.
Three dances are demonstrated: 1/ Reel of the 51st Division, 2/ Round Reel of Eight and 3/ (unknown) although I truly enjoy seeing highland steps done "correctly" when included in a Scottish country dance.
The traditional scottish is always top of the pops for me as I used to join in all the dances and got great enjoyment from a good night oot!!!!! Kindest Regards Gavin
From a time when everything was in Sepia.... I can remember when radio was in Black and White. 😀 Stay safe fellow Celts. Greetings from Cymru. 🏴🏴
Reminds me of being younger when a neighbour would put Jimmy Shand records on the 'radiogram' at full volume with the windows open and folk ,largely kids and mothers grannies etc would dance in the street ,
For some reason - non of us were Scots - we played and danced to this every Christmas. The dancing got more frenetic the drunken we got. Normally ended up in a heap on the floor. Those were the days!
Reel of the 51st to Mairi's Wedding - not quite in time. Well found Frank. Jimmy Shand played a Hohnor Morino IV British Chromatic (three-row button accordion, known popularly as the Shand Morino). I probably have the recording among my vinyl.
Excellent! I hope they have a great time, the weather is expected to get very good towards next week! Inverness has changed dramatically in 15 years, it's gone from a town of 30,000 to a city of 70,000 so a lot of the changes might come as a surprise - both good and bad! :)
Aye, that set brought back some memories. Of gatherings in the Glasgow Highlander's Institute to Young Farmer's gatherings above byres with the seating consisting of bales of straw,(preferrably with the jaggy side faced downwards) and attended posh Highland balls. From Arran and Skye to points in between and danced by the light of the peat fire flame. . .
I remember we had to do these dances in P.E. at School, this tune along with Dashing White Sargeant, But it was much faster though, and more rough than what's seen here
@nicholaevitch It is definetely Mairis Wedding in the beginning. Just read the description of the video. It ist a Medley with Mairies Wedding and some other tunes.
In Edinburgh over the Easter holidays, John Lennon and his family would visit Aunt "Mater"'s family: "Most evenings we used to go up a hill just behind the house to visit a friend of the family, and they had a wind-up gramophone. John quite enjoyed that, even thought the music was mainly Jimmy Shand and his band. Still, it was music."(Mike Cadwallader, a cousin)
maybe someone my to shade some light about the hi study of the dance i.e. its origin???I shall be greatful cos I'm very much interested in the dance and the band-lyrics.
up4itbristol, I remember Corryvrechan, the place, from that scene in 'I Know Where I'm Going!' - that tiny boat just poised there as they struggle desperately to survive... h.
@HRHStewartIIRegina - Much of it was filmed at Kilkenny Castle, Ireland as part of their annual festival - see video response from Corryvrechan for original (and the correct music...)
Is there any footage of the actual Mhairi's Wedding dance? I was confused by seeing three couples, then four, then another four followed by the original three.
Didn't there used to be a programme on BBC (back in B&W days) perhaps in the 50s called something like the White Heather Club? I'm fairly sure Jimmy Shand's Bluebell Polka was the signature tune.
I love Mairi's Wedding but check out the video responses (or search for Corryvrechan) to enjoy our "original" dance / music combination for Angus MacLeod, Saxmundham Reel, Reel of the 51st and many others (all in glorious colour!)
Les Français connaissent Jimmy Shand ? Je sais que tout le monde ici en Ecosse le connaissent, mais je n'ai pas su qu'il était si célèbre ailleurs aussi !
Cheers :), I'm actually from here I was just asking Scottishcutie which way they pronounced it in that particular case. In Inverness, we say it 'Vah-ree', or 'Mah-ree' if there is no H in it. Tha mi ceart?
I love Jimmy Shand and had the privelege of dancing to his music in Princes Street Gardens, in Edinburgh. We would have not been allowed to do the wrong dance as part of a demonstration.
Hi Alistair here.Ian (the twat) left his email open so I thought I would let you hear what Im into.Its great what skill full playing and wonderful dancing I have a huge collection of this sort of music if you would like to hear it. Yours Alistair
How have we all been contaminated by all that popular knee jerk pop music sh!te? This is genuine Western peripheral European tradition, but apart from the Brittany part of France, western shore music and traditions are dead. (ok apart from some parts of West of Ireland)
Scottish music is better on a piano accordion with a full range of basses to give that rhythm shands sounds like a toy it is horrid Proper is a 120 bass piano (italian) those button things are rubbish!
