Sheet Music: The Gallowglass

TitleThe Gallowglass
Alternate titlesNathaniel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Brother
ComposerTraditional Irish
Also attributed toNathaniel Gow (1763–1831)
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyA minor
RangeE4–A5
Time signature6/8
Tempo100 BPM
Performance time0:40
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (49 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (325 kB)
Date added2024-09-03
Last updated2024-09-03
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 0.3 (not so popular)
Categories
Jigs, Traditional/Folk

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Tuesday 3 September 2024

Tune of the Day: The Gallowglass

Traditional Irish jig

This melody was originally written by Scots fiddler and composer Nathaniel Gow as “Nathaniel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Brother”, published in 1792, but was later reset by the Irish as a less sombre jig.

A gallowglass was the name for a mercenary soldier, often Scottish, who in ages past fought in Ireland. The Gaelic word is galloglach, which is a combination of two words: gall, a foreigner, and oglach, a soldier. The term is also taken to mean a warrior who is so loyal to the clan that he is willing to die to protect his chieftain.