This tune comes out of Daniel Dow’s book, A Collection of Ancient Scots Music, published in 1776. The attribution to Rory Dall points us most likely to Ruaidhrí Dall Ó Catháin (c. 1570 - 1650), and I like to think of this dark, morbid piece of music as being a kind of Gaelic parallel to Dowland's Lachrimae and other dark and gothic music that was all the rage in the early 17th century in England and on the Continent.
The scary little jig comes from a later setting in the Maclean-Clephane manuscripts.
Ann Heymann included this tune on her excellent record Cruit go nÓr. She followed the Maclean-Clephane setting for the tune as well as for the jig.
© Simon Chadwick 2012 - earlygaelicharp.info/laments