I took this photo in 2002 (which all photos on this page save for the Burn's Nasmyth image are ©2002 and used by permission-- to inquire about using them info@standrewsri.org) and it is all that is left of the once grandoise Rosslyn Castle home to the Earl of Orkney in the town of Roslyn located in Midlothian, Scotland (a short drive from Edinburgh...bus tours leave from Waverly Station which will take you to visit this impressive historical site). This castle is located at the end of path that runs past a graveyard and stone located just behind the world famous Rosslyn Chapel which was founded by the Earl (or Prince) of Orkney, Sir William St Clair, in September 21, 1446 (when the first foundation stone was laid to begin building this impressive structure) -- this chapel is home to the Aprentice Pillar, whose story is fascinating by itself, however the chapel has also has gained world fame as some believe it's the alleged resting place of the Holy Grail, the Arc of the Covenant and even Christ's mummified head et.al., relics which are rumoured to be burried beneath the building.
Above: Close up detail of the carvings in the ceilings of Rosslyn Chapel and
the top of the Apprentice pillar and the Mason's Pillar.
Below are two views of the famed Aprentice Pillar taken on my trip to Rosslyn
in June 2002.
This grounds of both the Chapel and the Castle which is made of pink brick overlooks the banks of the River Esk has been an inspiration hundreds of writers and poets including Alexander Naysmith (1758-1840), Sir Walter Scott and even Scotland's Bard Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 Ð July 21, 1796).
In a curious side note, Alexander Naysmith is the only painter that Burns would actually ever sit for (above). Naysmith also painted one landscape featuring the Bard and his Son James (who went on to invent the Steam Hammer) on a picnic set in the shadows of the remains of the castle on the side near where the River Esk flows. I was surprised to see that the ruins depicted in painting (which that dates to the late 1700s) hadn't changed all that much from the image captured over two centuries ago.
It is believed by some historians that the Earl of Orkney had traveled across "the pond" and explored the New world 100 years before Ferdinand (no relation to Franz Ferdinand...different era and country, and now a clever name for a pretty interesting Glaswegian pop band) and Isabella granted the funding to send Christopher Columbus on his journey to the new world. Inside the chapel, again completed well before Columbus even had the notion to set sail are stone carvings depicting ears of maize (corn), a plant indigenous to a new unexplored land that would eventually become the Americas and plant which wasn't known to Europeans until after that now famous voyage back in 1492. Alas, there is some arechaological evidence to support this as researchers have found evidence of Celtic stone carvings as well as traces of the Gaelic language in the vernacular of Algonquin people who resided along the East Coast of what is now North America and Canada.
So...back to the tune.
This is a traditional tune and I'm not sure if the composer is known. This tune captures the mood of this place quiet well.
Note during my visit to this historic site I learned that when refering to the Castle and Chapel, the word Rosslyn is spelled with two S. When refering to the town itslef, it's spelled with a single S.
To transcribe the melody which I learned from a version recorded by Old
Blind Dogs on a CD called The Worlds Room (on the Green
Linnet label). I used a"transverse silver flute" (or just an ordinary keyed
flute) to transcribe it, then I tabbed it out for the fiddle:
This is not in ABC format but written by registers and I've included .gif
files of standard notation as well as a MIDI file. The A and B sections repeat,
but I wrote this out without repeats. The B section begins on beat four of the
last beat of the penultimate (second to last) measure on page one. It's up to
the performer if you want to play it AA BB or A B A B however, the most common
form is in a rounded Binary AA / BB / AA
Braced and dashed are triplet, sixteenth or ornament figures:
Underlines are half or sustained notes (at least two beats)
Everthing else treat as quarter notes.
Dots are dotted notes and followed by an eight which is placed in a bracket.
8va means the note or line jumps up an octave.
Single apostrophe, notes are between Middle C and the Bb (middle line of treble
clef staff).
Double apostrophe (or half quote mark) means notes are in the double prime octave
which begins on the C third space on treble clef staff and goes to the Bb one
ledger line above.
Triple Apostrophe is triple prime, notes starting at the C two ledger lines
above treble clef Staff and above.
This was transcribed for standard flute. Transpose the fiddle part down an octave
(it's already transposed down in the tablature section).
// is a cessaura (pause) or a rest.
(g) is grace into note from below.
Two beat Anacrusis at beginning common time:
The key is G harmonic minor (the F# is the raised seventh).
Parent scale is Bb major so you'll need a whistle with notes/timbre compatable
with the key of Bb.
To hear a MIDI version CLICK HERE
A section: Measure one has an Anacrusis (pickup), begins on beat 3
Bb' A' | G'_ D''. (Eb'') | D''_ C'' D'' | Eb'' {D''-Eb''-D''} C'' Bb' |
A'_ Bb'. ( A') | G'_ G''(8va). (A'') | Bb''. (Bb'') A'' G''| F#''. (F''# G'')
A'' F#'' | D''_ C'' D'' | Eb'' {D''-Eb''-D''} C'' Bb' | A'_ Bb' C'' | D'' Bb'
A' G' | F#''_ G'' A''| Bb'' G'' A" F#" | G" // D'' C'' D'' | Bb'. (A'-Bb') (A')
G'. | G__||
B Section: Measure one has an Anacrusis, begins on beat 4:
(g)D'' | (g)G''_ G'' A'' | Bb.'' (Bb'') A'' G'' | D.''' (C''') Bb'' C''' | A''_
G'' F#'' | G'' D'' G'' A'' | Bb." ( Bb'') A'' G'' | D.''' (C''' Bb'') (A'')
D''' (C''' Bb'') | A''_ C'' D'' | Eb'' {D''-Eb''-D''} C'' Bb' | A'_ Bb' C''
| D'' Bb' A' G' | F#''_ G'' A''| Bb'' G'' A" F#" | G" // D'' C'' D'' | Bb'.
(A'-Bb') (A') G'. | G__||
Key:
E_____F#_G____A_Bb______
A_Bb_____C______________
D_Eb_________F#_ G______
G_____A__Bb____._C______
0-->1------1-->2------2----3
> means a half step lower then the major keys
(Dash after half note, dot after dotted note, parentheses are 8ths)\
I didn't write articulations in, just left it open, but follow recording.
This will work on both the fiddle and the mandolin,
Note: for some reason this bar lines in the tab will not align in this format.
E________|_____________|________|___________________|______________|
A________|_____________|________|___________________|______________|
D________|_____0._( >1 )_|_0-____0_|_>1_{0->1-0}______|_______________|
G_>2_>1_|_0-__________|____3___|____________3_>2___|_1-___>2,_ (
>1 )_|
E____________|_______________|______________|________|
A__________0_|_>1._(>1)__0____|______________|________|
D_______3____|____________3__|_2-__(2_3)_0_2_|_0-____0_|
G__0-________|_______________|______________|____3____|
E___________________|___________|_____________|___________|___________|
A___________________|___________|_____________|________0__|_>1____0___|
D_>1_{0->1-0}_______|____________|_0___________|__2-__3____|_____3___2__|
G____________3_>2___|_1-__>2,_ 3_|___>2__1__0__|___________|___________|
E__________|__________________|________________|__________|_______________|
A__________|__________________|________________|_______0__|_>1.__(>1)_0____|
D_3__0___0_|__________________|___(B section)__0_|_3-__3____|____________3__|
G______3___|_>2._(1_>2)_(1 )_0__|_0_____________|__________|_______________|
E_______________|__________|___________|_______________|_______________________|
A_3,_(>2)_>1_>2_|_0-_______|________0__|_>1.__(>1)_0____|_3._(>2_>1)_(0)_3_(>2_>1)_|
D______________|______3_2_|_3_0_3_____|____________3__|______________________|
G______________|__________|___________|_______________|______________________|
E________|________________|_________|______________|_____________|_____________|
A_0-_____|________________|__________|_____________|__________0__|_>1____0____|
D_____0_|_>1_{0->1-0}_____|__________|_0___________|__2-__3______|_____3____2__|
G___3___|___________3_>2_|_1-__>2,_ 3_|___>2__1__0__|____________|______________|
E__________|__________________|____|
A__________|__________________|____|
D_3__0___0_|__________________|____|
G______3___|_>2._(1_>2)_(1 )_0__|_0__|
Full view of the altar area of Rosslyn Chapel. Just behind
the flowers located to right is the Apprentice Pillar and behind the bouquet
on the left is
the location of the Mason's pillar.
For more information about the history of this impressive piece of architecture
visit the official
Rosslyn Chapel website.
Bee on thistle growing along the path that led to the stone
foot bridge that takes you to the grounds of Rosslyn Castle.