> To the best of my knowledge, the first use of the word Strathspey
> occurs in Zachary Boyd's The Flowers of Zion (1653) where it is
> written that the king danced to a strathspey. To me, this would
> probably indicate that the strathspey was played by a consort
> not by a solo instrument, andZ this usage does not indicate
> that the form or even the name was a recent innovation. It is unwise
> to draw conclusions on the basis of lack of information. If there
> were strathspeys and if there were harps, it is probable that the
> two met by and by. An English poet once wrote: "And what were the
> songs the sirens sang?"...any guesses? :-)
>>
Hmmm.very interesting-I've not heard of this book. Where do you find it?
I guess then the strathspey was adopted by the fiddle at a later date for
a favorite? It is certainly closely associated.
Best,
Cindy
-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cindy J ( Cindy & Jasper, Cairn terrier) cindy@cs.dartmouth.edu Dragon Tales, Early Scottish Music for harp dragon@cs.dartmouth.edu (http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~cindy) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------