Niel Gow's Lamentation for the Death of His Second Wife
By Niel Gow (1727-1807)
Arranged By Jennifer Carpenter
A S/T B
This beautiful Lament is likely Gow’s most well known piece. Neil Gow was an 18th-century Scottish fiddler and composer. He compiled in several volumes many of the pieces that are the mainstays for Scottish music making, even today. Originally a 2-voice piece, a middle voice (tenor recorder) has been added in the spirit of improvisation. Folk musicians often gather and improvise harmonic counterparts to the written melody.
The piece is arranged for Alto, Tenor, and Bass recorders. It is a slow tune, the 8th note gets the beat. You will hear a 6-beat click track count in (1 measure) for the Tenor and Bass recorders. The Alto comes in after 5 beats to play the pick-up 8th note. The repeat is good! Also, consider practicing the top voice without the ornaments first, so that you learn the melody. Then, you can add in these ornaments and more if you desire!
-- Jennifer Carpenter
Play-along files recorded by Jennifer Carpenter, supported by a grant from the Recorder Artist Relief Fund.