Miss Milligan's Miscellany CD Part 5

Miss Milligan’s Miscellany CD Part 5

This recording by Luke Brady and his Scottish Country Dance Band puts on record the music for yet another group of dances from Miss Milligan’s Miscellany. Few of the dances are widely danced. The CD makes very pleasant listening, the overall sound full and rich, with the whole six-piece band blending easily together to support the brilliant playing of Luke Brady on lead accordion. This tight ensemble is used throughout until the final Waltz track, where the pianist, Maureen Rutherford, comes into her own. The fiddle is rarely audible. The lead tunes used for each dance are generally the originals or the ‘customary tune’ and Brady has made a bright selection of supporting tunes. Although there is seldom general agreement about tempo and speeds, for me the strathspeys sounded comfortable for dancing but some of the reels and jigs are over-brisk. There are two awkward points of confusion. The Honey Moon (two words) appears on the insert as The Honeymoon (one word) in spite of a note in the Miscellany pointing out that The Honeymoon is a reel in the Graded Book. The Countess of Lauderdale’s Reel is listed in the Miscellany (both original and the 2007 single volume) as a 40 bar jig. However, a correction published in Scottish Country Dancer, October 2008, stipulates, ‘This dance is a reel, not a jig as stated’. This recording as an 8x40 reel, using as its lead tune the reel bearing the same name, is perfectly in order. These, and a number of other errors in the accompanying insert about track timings, will frustrate teachers who use CDs for most of their classes and need accurate information. However, for the general listener this is a very enjoyable disc with skilful playing and many bright tunes. Dennis Tucker, Oxford Branch