The Duchess Tree
Scottish Song By William Marshall
The Duchess Tree is a Scottish song written by William Marshall (1748-1833) who is regarded as one of the greatest composers of Scottish fiddle music. The song was dedicated to Miss Eliza Hunter.W Marshall was born in Fochabers (pronounced "fok-a-bers", with emphases on the first syllable and a short 'a'), Scotland. He entered the service of the Duke of Gordon, eventually becoming the Factor to the Gordon Estate. James Hunter's The Fiddle Music of Scotland credits Marshall with writing 257 tunes. Many of these compositions were named in honour of the Duke's guests.
Robert Burns called him "the first composer of Strathspeys of the age".
James Scott Skinner (1843-1927) wrote the accompanying lead tune for the dance, published in 1888 by J.B. Cramer And Co.
J S Skinner was a Scottish dancing master, violinist, fiddler and composer, considered to be one of the most influential fiddlers in Scottish traditional music, he was known as "the Strathspey King".
Related Scottish Country Dances
The Duchess TreeThe Duchess Tree By William Marshall
And the flow'rs are fair to see;
And dear is the shade of the leafy screen,
When we meet by the Duchess Tree.
When my heart is stirred at the whisper'd word
Of the voice so dear to me;
And the rustling leaf and the warbling bird
Sound sweet in the Duchess Tree.
Let the gay lamp gleam on the glowing dance,
In the halls that ring with glee;
Far sweeter to me is the moonbeam's glance
Through the boughs of the Duchess Tree.
Like the queen of the glade, it stands arrayed
In the pride of high degree;
And long may the axe and the woodman's blade,
Spare the boughs of the Duchess Tree.
Blest be the hour in a day that is dead,
When its shoot first waved on the lea;
And blest be the hand that reared and spread
The bower of the Duchess Tree.
The world is cold like its great god, gold,
And life is a stormy sea;
But there's peace and rest, where the green boughs fold
Like a robe round the Duchess Tree.
The Duchess Tree, Words By William Marshall, Tune By James Scott Skinner
From Logie Collection Of Original Music For Voice, Violin And Pianoforte, c. 1888
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original William Marshall (Scottish Composer) article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original James Scott Skinner article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/104975212 article on National Library of Scotland © 2004.
Image copyright https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/104975212 under this Creative Commons Licence 4.0.