Tuesday 4 October 2016
Tune of the Day: Auld Robin Gray
Traditional Scottish tuneo
This slow air was composed by Englishman Rev. William Leeves (1748–1828), rector of Wrington in Somerset, to words by Scottish travel writer, artist and socialite Lady Anne Barnard (née Lindsay). While the melody is technically English in provenance, it is commonly accepted as Scottish. It was a favorite of many famous Scottish fiddlers, including J.S. Skinner and Peter Milne, the ‛Tarland Minstrel’, who received a silver medal from Queen Victoria at Balmoral for his rendering of “Auld Robin Gray”.
The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.