Tune
The Bluebells of Scotland is the usual modern name for a Scottish folksong (Roud # 13849). It was written by Dora Jordan, an English actress and writer. First published in 1801.
As with most folk songs, it exists in multiple versions. In the version printed in 1803 in the Scots Musical Museum , with "bluebells" in the title, and a different tune to the current one, the words are:
A broadside ballad version (words only) from slightly later in the 19th century makes references to George III and the Napoleonic wars:
The bluebell is a flower; see Common bluebell and Campanula rotundifolia.
Joseph Haydn wrote a piano trio accompaniment for this song (Hob. XXXIa: 176). George Eugene Griffin incorporated the tune into his Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1797, which became a popular success in England. It was published in 1805. [3]
The song was arranged by Arthur Pryor for trombone with accompaniment. This version is usually called "Blue Bells of Scotland". It is most commonly played with a piano or concert/military band but has also been performed with orchestra or brass band. Although the exact date is disputed due to some naming questions, Pryor probably composed the piece around 1897 and released it around 1899, as the first iteration of the song arranged for an instrument is a Berliner record recorded by him in 1897, played as a simple tune with few variations [4] . The first band arrangement (and the first virtuosistic one) is also by him, accompanied by Sousa's band (of which he was a member), recorded in 1900 [5]
This version is technically challenging and allows the soloist to show off a flowing legato while, in different places, requiring some difficult jumps. The sheer speed and volume of notes also pose a significant challenge. It is in theme and variation form and opens with a cadenza-like introduction. After the theme, it moves to the allegro section, in which the variations begin. Variation one involves triplets, while variation two involves syncopated sixteenth-eighth note rhythms. The cadenza that follows demonstrates the performer's range; jumping about three and a half octaves from high C (an octave above middle C) to pedal A flat and G, for example. The vivace finale brings all these techniques into one, requiring the trombonist to exhibit advanced range, legato, double tonguing, and flexibility. Thus, the piece is limited to the best trombonists, although there have been numerous recordings by such famed players as Joseph Alessi, Christian Lindberg and Ian Bousfield. It is often considered to be the trombone (and euphonium) equivalent (in terms of required mastery of the instrument) to the Carnival of Venice for trumpet or cornet, by Jean-Baptiste Arban.
American composer Leroy Anderson composed an orchestral arrangement of the tune for the 3rd movement of his "Scottish Suite" (1954) which gives a very clean and sprightly melody to the high strings and woodwinds.
Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album 101 Gang Songs (1961).
Numerous bagpipe bands play arrangements of the song, typically in a medley with one or more tunes such as the Marines Hymn.
Alabama State University Founder's Day is celebrated on William Burns Paterson's birthday on 9 February. [6] It has been remembered every year since 1901. [7] The Bluebells of Scotland which was Paterson's favourite song was regularly sung. [8] [9]
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. Nearly all trombones use a telescoping slide mechanism to alter the pitch instead of the valves used by other brass instruments. The valve trombone is an exception, using three valves similar to those on a trumpet, and the superbone has valves and a slide.
Bonnie Dundee is the title of a poem and a song written by Walter Scott in 1825 in honour of John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, who was created 1st Viscount Dundee in November 1688, then in 1689 led a Jacobite rising in which he died, becoming a Jacobite hero.
Locksley Wellington Hampton was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelhorn.
Arthur Willard Pryor was a trombone virtuoso, bandleader, and soloist with the Sousa Band. He was a prolific composer of band music, his best-known composition being "The Whistler and His Dog". In later life, he became a Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, who served on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders during the 1930s.
"Highland Laddie", also known as "Hielan' Laddie", is the name of a Scottish popular folk tune "If Thou'lt Play Me Fair Play", but as with many old melodies various sets of words can be sung to it, of which Robert Burns's poem "Highland Laddie" is probably the best known. "If Thou'lt Play Me Fair Play" has been reworked several times since Burns set down his words, Donkey Riding being one variant.
Dudley Bright was appointed Principal Trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2001 and retired from that position in June 2018. Prior to that, he held the same position with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Halle Orchestra and before that briefly as an associate with the LSO. He is also Professor of Trombone at the Royal Academy of Music.
"The Water Is Wide" is a folk song of Scottish origin. It remains popular in the 21st century. Cecil Sharp published the song in Folk Songs From Somerset (1906).
"The Raggle Taggle Gypsy" (Roud 1, Child 200), is a traditional folk song that originated as a Scottish border ballad, and has been popular throughout Britain, Ireland and North America. It concerns a rich lady who runs off to join the gypsies (or one gypsy). Common alternative names are "Gypsy Davy", "The Raggle Taggle Gypsies O", "The Gypsy Laddie(s)", "Black Jack David" (or "Davy") and "Seven Yellow Gypsies".
"Seventy-Six Trombones" is a show tune and the signature song from the 1957 musical The Music Man, by Meredith Willson, a film of the same name in 1962 and a made-for-TV movie in 2003. The piece is commonly played by marching bands, military bands, and orchestras.
"Geordie" is an English language folk song concerning the trial of the eponymous hero whose lover pleads for his life. It is listed as Child ballad 209 and Number 90 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The ballad was traditionally sung across the English speaking world, particularly in England, Scotland and North America, and was performed with many different melodies and lyrics. In recent times, popular versions have been performed and recorded by numerous artists and groups in different languages, mostly inspired by Joan Baez's 1962 recording based on a traditional version from Somerset, England.
"Did You Ever See a Lassie?" is a traditional folk song with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 5040.
"Lady Franklin's Lament" is a traditional folk ballad indexed by George Malcolm Laws and Steve Roud. The song recounts the story of a sailor who dreams about Lady Franklin speaking of the loss of her husband, Sir John Franklin, who disappeared in Baffin Bay during his 1845 expedition through the Arctic Ocean in search of the Northwest Passage sea route to the Pacific Ocean. The song first appeared as a Broadside ballad around 1850 and has since been recorded with the melody of the Irish traditional air "Cailín Óg a Stór" by numerous artists. It has been found in Ireland, in Scotland, and in some regions of Canada.
25 Scottish Songs was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. The work was published in London and Edinburgh in 1818, and in Berlin in 1822.
The (Bonnie) Rantin' Laddie or Lord Aboyne is a traditional Scottish folk ballad telling of the valiant rescue of his lover by a noble Highland lord.
The Ten National Airs with Variations for Flute and Piano, Op. 107, were composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1818 and 1819. Beethoven wrote this piece based on folk-derived melodies. This is one of several sets of pieces that Beethoven wrote that are folk-derived. The piece was for George Thomson, a wealthy Edinburgh-based publisher with whom he had a difficult business relationship. These variation sets were first published in 1819 in both London and Vienna.
"The Keel Row" is a traditional Tyneside folk song evoking the life and work of the keelmen of Newcastle upon Tyne. A closely related song was first published in a Scottish collection of the 1770s, but may be considerably older, and it is unclear whether the tune is Scottish or English in origin.
Simone Mantia was an American baritone horn/euphonium virtuoso and also trombone artist at the turn of the twentieth century. He was both a performer and administrator with many American band and orchestral ensembles. On baritone/euphonium he is often cited as the master of the instrument in his time.
"My Home" is a traditional Scottish or Northumbrian pipe tune. It is used by military bands as a march past, but a slow march contrasting with quick march pasts such as "Highland Laddie".
The trombone is a musical instrument from the brass instrument family. Trombone's first premiere in jazz was with Dixieland jazz as a supporting role within the Dixie Group. This role later grew into the spotlight as players such as J.J. Johnson and Jack Teagarden began to experiment more with the instrument, finding that it can fill in roles along with the saxophone and trumpet in bebop. The trombone has since grown to be featured in standard big band group setups with 3 to 5 trombones depending on the arrangement. A person who plays the trombone is called a trombone player or a trombonist.
Alan Raph was an American bass trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor who founded and conducted the Danbury Brass Band. He recorded with many well-known musicians including Quincy Jones, Philip Glass, Peter Nero, John Pizzarelli and Bob Brookmeyer for television, movies, and ballet. He was for many years on first call with most New York City recording studios.
