Not Saturday, no quote, Happy New Year
After nearly two years of Saturday posts, we missed one due to the time-consuming constraints of travel, concerts, and a recording project. Nevertheless, we take note of the year’s end and offer a short post today on ‘Auld Lang Syne’, the famous Scots song frequently heard at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.
While most people know the version made popular by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, the original song is appealingly different. The familiar text of the song is by Robert Burns (1759 – 1796) and is found in the Scots Musical Museum, a six-volume collection of Scots songs and music, each volume including 100 songs.
Our version, found on our CD, Duo Seraphim, uses the text from Burns but is based on an earlier version of the tune from the Balcarres lute book, a manuscript that dates from circa 1695. There, the tune is titled ‘Old Lang Syne, by Mr. Beck’, and is presented with variations written in lute tablature for the d-minor tuning.
Wonderfully versatile musician, Rob MacKillop, made a single-stave guitar transcription of the piece, which he very generously has made available and can be accessed through the Scottish Lute and Early Guitar Society website.
And our version may be heard in its entirety here.
We wish all of our friends a very Happy New Year.
Happy New Year!
Of course, it should be pronounced Syne, not Zyne. You wouldn’t say “It’s a long time zince…”
Sofern Sie in einem Deutsch Dialekt singt, ja?
Lovely version. Happy New Year!