Sweet Afton - which tune?

Subject: RE: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 03 Jun 99 - 04:35 PM

Man, I hate it when work gets in the way of my hobbies! Sorry it took so long to get back to you, Murray, and thanks very much for the clarification on the tunes. It shouldn't matter, but I like knowing that that tune I picked is the old one.

Subject: RE: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: Murray on Salt Spring
Date: 29 May 99 - 02:01 AM

The old anon tune in the Scots Musical Museum (1792) is [roughly]: Key F 3/4 c/f a gf/ ga b- ag/ f a gf/ gt c/ f a gf/ ga c fd/ c b-a ga f etc. Sol-fa-wise , and equally roughly, it's s,/ d m rd/ rm f mr /d m rd/ dt,--s,/d m rd/ rm s d'l/ s fm rm/ d. The Hume tune is often heard, but believe me the traditionalists go for the old one every time. That second tune is like the (American) tune of "Away in a Manger", thus: s,d/ m- rd/ d t, l,/ s, l, s,f,/ f,m, etc. The old tune, incidentally, was first published in the Museum, and seems to have been composed by a Major Logan of Ayrshire.

Subject: RE: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: Helen
Date: 29 May 99 - 01:06 AM

Shack,

it's the one which goes up on "away" but it's not exactly the same tune. If you search for Afton in the blue search box at top rightof this screen yuo'll get the lyrics and two blur "click here to play" links. You may have to save the files and play them on a midi programme, or if you have the right software (I don't know what it is) you will hear each one when you click on each link.

Helen

Subject: RE: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: Shack
Date: 28 May 99 - 09:39 AM

Susan-Marie, I love this song but did not know ANY tune. I will settle for the Away In a Manger version for now, but WHICH Away in a Manger? The one that goes up on "away" or up on "a"?

Subject: RE: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 28 May 99 - 08:07 AM

Thanks Doug, I will stick with the tune I like best, it suits sean nos ornamentation better. GN - thanks for the background. Can you tell me which tune is the Burns and which is the Hume? One of the tunes in the DT has a descant for the entire first line (this is the one that sounds like "Away in a manger"), the first line of the other tune starts out low, goes up a few notes, goes down one, then up a few, then back down.

Subject: RE: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: GN
Date: 27 May 99 - 08:30 PM

Robert Burns sent his melody for the song with the song to the Scots Musical Museum, #386, but the original tune has for the most part been displaced by one composed by Alexander Hume about 1850.

Subject: RE: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: DougR
Date: 27 May 99 - 07:41 PM

Just let'em try, Susan-Marie! Sing it anyway you want to! Sing the version you love the best.

DougR

Subject: Sweet Afton - which tune?
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 27 May 99 - 12:26 PM

I learned Flow Gently Sweet Afton from the DT. There are two tunes, one that sounds like "Away in a Manger" and another. I liked the unfamiliar tune better, so that's how I sing it now. However, I just read that the song is very well-known in Scotland. Can anyone tell me which tune it is commonly known by? If I sing it with the lesser-known tune, is anyone going to berate me?