Nancy, no, that's a wrong impression that someone gave.According to the Ashokan Farewell FAQ, what Jay Ungar, the composer, says
Ashokan Farewell is written in the style of a Scottish lament or Irish
Air. I sometimes introduce it as, "a Scottish lament written by a
Jewish guy from the Bronx." (I lived in the Bronx untiI the age of 16.)Check out the FAQ at