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Seonaid Donn, Lucknow (Jessie Brown, Lucknow) - Traditional
Lord Lovat’s Strathspey – Traditional
Nellie’s Strathspey - Traditional
Donald and Marion - Traditional
Bodachan a’ Ghàraidh (The Jolly old Gardener) - Traditional

​Jessie Brown or Highland Jessie was a figure often depicted in stories, poetry, and portraiture. During the Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1859) the British Empire in the guise of the East India Company was under siege in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The details of this story change slightly depending on which version you choose, but the salient points are these.

​Young Jessie, the Scottish wife of a corporal, hears in her hysterical exhausted state of duress, the sound of the bagpipes of the 78th Highlanders amongst the din of cannons, muskets, shouting and general warfare. Only she can hear these pipes of course as she is the Scottish person in the company. She alerts the rest of the besieged brits that help is on the way. Clearly the veracity of this could be questioned but it was a popular story of the day. The Spectator even published a story in 1860 rubbishing the whole thing. A cynic might argue that the publishers of this esteemed organ were not so keen on the popular idea of a bunch of “brits” under siege from hordes of Indians, being saved by a gaggle of Bagpipe-wielding “jocks”: one suspects this idea still holds little charm for the venerable Spectator. The further complication to this whole story is that the tune here comes from the Gunn collection which predates the Sepoy Rebellion.

​Lord Lovat’s comes from William Ross’s Collection (c. 1869). This William Ross was pipe major of the Black Watch from 1849-1854 and then piper to Queen Victoria from 1854 until his death in1891.

​Nellie’s appears in John MacFadyen’s Bagpipe Music.

​The two reels here are common in the older collections but then seem to become less fashionable in subsequent books of bagpipe music. “Donald and Marion” appears with a few variations of name.

​ - ‘Se Donul a rinn a bhanis (Donald’s Wedding – Gunn)
- Domhnul a’ bh’air a’ Ghille – Angus MacKay’s Piper’s Assistant.
- Donald and Marion (Donald was the laddies name) – Glen’s.
- Johnny Lad (Morag is Domhnull) - Donald MacDonald Collection
- I’ll Kiss Ye Yet – Thomas Glen.

​The Jolly Old Gardener is in these 3 books. Donald MacDonald’s; Mackay’s; and Gunn’s.

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from Best Sets, released April 23, 2020

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Mike Katz & Alasdair White New York, New York

Mike Katz and Alasdair White have been playing together for almost 20 years, most notably as part of Scotland’s seminal Battlefield Band. In this time, as a matter of habit, they explored some of the more obscure, exciting and challenging corners of the Highland piping repertoire. Though both prolific composers in their own right, here they present traditional and collected music in its raw state. ... more

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