Tina plays the solo part here on viola da gamba and Grant accompanies her on the theorbo, a long-necked lute with many extra bass strings that was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. Lutes, viols and recorders, those quintessentially English instruments, were common. It seems to have remained in the oral tradition as it was recorded in the 1920s by Sligo fiddlers James Morrison and Paddy Sweeney. We perform Philippe's versions of these still-popular jigs. In those, variations sprang from a basic tune.
Similar versions exist in at least two other Scottish sources.
These composers used traditional tunes, harmonizing them according to the standards of baroque and gallant writing. In our performance the lilt and air of baroque style is enhanced by Bonnie's use of Scottish ornaments. 10 Gowd on Your Gartens, Marion For many centuries, the harp has been the single instrument most identified with folk music in Ireland and Scotland. Bill plays the wire-strung harp, or clarsach, used by Irish bards and harpers in the Scottish Highlands before 1800. Known today in and out of folk circles, it shows how deeply Scottish and Irish music entered the awareness of the entire English-speaking world in the 18th century.