Lord MacDonald's Reel
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
LORD MACDONALD'S REEL (R8x32) 3C (4C set) William Campbell RSCDS Book 61- 8 1s set, cast to 3rd place, set and cast back to top
9-16 1s lead down the middle for 3 steps, back to top and cast to 2nd place to face 1st corners
17-24 1s set and turn 1st corners, set and turn 2nd corners
25-32 1s dance reels of 3 on opposite sides giving LSh to 1st corners and cross to 2nd place on own sides
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
Lord MacDonald's Reel appears in William Campbell's Eighth Collection of the Newest and Most Favorite Country Dances and Reels, published in London around 1793. Campbell included both the music and instructions for the dance.The tune "Lord MacDonald's Reel" is attributed to Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald (c.1745–1795), who composed several reels and strathspeys. He was president of the Highland Society of London in 1791.
The tune was in print by the early 1790s. A two-part version appeared in John Anderson's A Second Selection of the most Approved Highland Strathspeys, Country Dances, English & French Dances around 1791. Niel Gow included a four-part version in A Third Collection of Strathspey Reels in 1792, followed by William Campbell's version around 1793.
Other early printings include James Aird's fourth volume of A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs around 1794, Longman and Broderip's Fifth Book around 1795 and John Gow's A Favorite Collection of Slow Airs, Strathspeys and Reels around 1795.
Contemporary newspaper reports record the tune being used for dancing at the Duchess of Chandos's ball in 1802, Mrs Hamilton's masquerade ball in 1805, the Duchess of Gordon's ball in 1806, a ball at Brighton Castle in 1806, the Master of the Ceremonies Ball at Ramsgate in 1807 and Lord Macdonald's dinner and ball in 1808.
The Globe of 1 August 1811 reported that a ball at Hillsborough was "led off by the Marquis of Downshire and Lady Harriet Savage, to the tune of Lord McDonald's Reel".
Several different tunes were published with similar Macdonald titles. "Sir Alexander McDonald's Reel" and "Lord McDonald's Old Reel" are distinct from the tune generally known as "Lord MacDonald's Reel".
The tune remained in print in the early nineteenth century. It appears on page 44 of Book 1 of Complete Repository of Old and New Scotch Strathspeys, Reels & Jigs, published in Edinburgh by Robert Purdie around 1805. The collection was adapted for the German flute and selected from the works of Niel Gow and Sons.
Lord Macdonald's Reel - From Page 44 Of 'Complete Repository Of Old And New Scotch Strathspeys, Reels & Jigs', Book 1, Published By Robert Purdie, c. 1805
This page uses content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, along with original copyrighted content and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources.
Information from A Selection Of Balls From 1811 on RegencyDances.org, including research on Lord MacDonald's Reel and its early publications.
Image from (cropped) National Library Of Scotland, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
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