Yesterday I stumbled across this in an 1812 book of drum beatings:
Singlings of Troop or Assembly (p. 6)
Doublings of the Troop (p. 7)
Singlings and Doublings of the Tattoo (p. 8)
Doublings of Troop (p. 31)
The Troop and Tattoo are military signals, notifying soldiers what to do. The evidence for pibrochs being used as military calls (Reveille, Troop, Retreat, Tattoo and General) is found here.
A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating – Including the Reveille, Troop, Retreat, Officer’s Calls, Signals, Salutes and the whole of the Camp Duty as practiced at Head Quarters, Washington City; intended particularly for the United States Army and Navy by Charles Stewart Ashworth, Leader of the Marine Band of music, Washington City. To which are added Tunes for the Fife adapted to the Drum. Boston, Published for the Author 1812 by G. Graupner
A couple of months ago, I noticed another thing that may throw light on where the pibroch terms “Single” and “Double” come from. The choreographic terms simple and double are abbreviated to S and D in notations of court dances from around 1500. These abbreviations and the alternation of measures (choreographic units) of different length immediately bring to mind Colin Campbell’s Instrumental Book:
Basse danse. The principal court dance during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. It reached a height of cultivation during the 15th century and disappeared after the middle of the 16th century. The musical practice that grew up around it served as a proving ground for many early instrumental techniques such as improvisations over a ground, variations and the forming of suite-like combinations.
… the dance was performed by couples and employed only five different step-units: R (révérence); b (branle); s (simple, usually found in pairs); d (double) and r (reprise or des marche). These five steps were combined into codified patterns called mesures. Several mesures made up a complete dance, some dances being of six mesures (a total of 62 step-units, as in Le doulz espoir). A typical choreographical structure involved alternation of one mesure with another of different length.
Daniel Heartz and Patricia Rader, ‘Basse danse’. Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press (accessed November 2015)
A gem of scholarly compilation as well as a fascinating overview of what pipers played and did back then - especially the detail about 12 pipers marching around St. Andrews Square in Edinburgh playing ‘Clanranald’s March’.
I am glad to see Barnaby that your visits to my papers is having a useful effect. I would though add a couple of words of caution. The American military following the family dispute of 1775-1783 based their new republican army structure on the British army as it was in that era with later US specific tweaks. On the other hand by 1812 in the British army there had been considerable changes as a result of the 1793 - 1815 spat with our continental neighbors. So if those drum calls can be shown to hold true for the British forces circa 1775, Colin Campbell who served in the military around then may well have been borrowing the nomenclature.
‘1820, when the publication of Donald MacDonald’s Book started to stabilize the names? Well in the later period when they introduced the competition for previous winners of the prize pipe the reduction by old MacRa in his submitted list of a well known tune to ‘Flaming mad’ might be an excessive contradictory example but the rest of the submitted and chosen tune lists from post 1820 I have seen and which so excited Roddy might change your view.
However, 1820 is as good a line to draw as any so to join in the spirit here are some more. The first is for 31 July 1810, (i did say I should have more after your last visit but you know the peculiarities of my filing systems). This and the following 3 are of particular interest for titles now missing, or never given one in the first place. All the spellings as given in the ‘Plan’ so includes the variants.
Failte a Phrionsa /The Prince’s Salute
Sliabh an t’Shiorra /Battle of Sheriff-muir
Cumha Duic Hamilton /The Duke of Hamilton’s Lament
Glas Mheur / A Favourite Piece
Spaidstireachd Bharra /M’Niel of Barra’s March
Fhuar mi Pog do Laimh an Righ /I got a Kifs of the King’s Hand
Failte Mheanairich /Sir James Menzie’s Salute
Failte Bhoisdail / M’Donald of Boisdale’s Salute
Cumha Mhic Chruimean /M’Rimmin’s Lament
Crunneach nan Camfhroineach /The Cameron’s Gathering
Piobreach Ur /A New Piobrach
Cumha Mhic Chruinean / M’Rimmon’s Lament
Ghlas Mheur /A Favourite Piece
The tunes submitted by the two Campbells in 1816. Please cross check with the copies I sent you as the reading of the hand is being done through the bottom of a glass at speed.
John Campbell from Nether Lorne
/Sutherlands Gathering
/ Mackay’s Lament
Craigealachie /GrantsGathering
/Battle of Fontney
Spaiderachd Dhonuil Gruamach /Grim Donald’s Sweetheart
Spaiderachd Bhara / Macneill of Barra’s Salute
Donald Campbell from Breadalbane
Pionbrachd Dhomul Dhuibh /[Macgregers March -crossed through and replaced with
Lochals march]
Failte Phricngcer / Princes welcome
Moladh Maire /maclachlains march
Cogadh na Sith /Peace or war
Ruag Ghlinne Freorr /Chace of Glenfroug
Spaeaderach Dhonuil Gruamich /Grim Donalds Sweetheart
John Campbell 1819, the year he won the prize pipe.
Spaiderachdd Dhond Gruamnich /Grim Donald’s Sweetheart
Failte a Phrinja /The Princes’ Salute
Failte Bhoisdail / Boisdale’s Salute
An Ribein Ghorm /Blue Ribbon
Ruaig Ghlinne Frein /The Persuit of Glenfroim
Cian a Drochaid Bhig /The Cameron’s Gathering.
Reminds me of a discussion with Roddy over the tune Kindease a translation of which he was trying to pin down. So I had started looking in the contemporary manuscripts and made one possible suggestion regarding a translation which he ran past a Gaelic scholar of our acquaintance who effectively said ‘no way could that spelling be connected to what would be required in Gaelic for the suggested meaning. Ok I replied when told, how does he want it spelt since I have assembled just about ever permutation you could think of and there certainly must be a suitable one in there. As we started it, it is one which I will pursue to completion for the background to Kindease here.
This is very interesting Barnaby, well spotted.
Do you have anything to say about technical reasons why these terms might have transferred, i.e. do you see any technical or stylistic feature of the drum singlings & doublings that parallel the pipe singling and doublings?
I would also be interested to know the heritage of these drum styles or systems, can they be traced back to 16th or 17th century trumpet and kettledrum practice?