THE RARE 1863 ALEXANDER LAING MUSIC MANUSCRIPT
By Peter MacFie
The re-discovered Laing Manuscript 2009
In 2009 a copy of a unique music manuscript dated 1863 was uncovered in Tasmanian State Archives by historian Peter MacFie. The document contained 242 hand written melodies for fiddle – 64 of them original with Tasmania titles such as Sorell Windmill, James Gordon of Forcett, Lady Franklins Reel & Lachlan Village near New Norfolk all composed by Scottish convict, constable & fiddler, Alexander Laing. The Tasmanian tunes are dedicated to people & places where he lived & worked – Hobart Town, Sorell, Port Arthur, Richmond & New Norfolk- from 1815 to 1868.
Alexander Laing (1792-1868)
Born at Mortlach, Forfar, Scotland, Laing enlisted in the Scottish 92nd Gordon Highlanders. While recruiting in Perthshire in 1813, he was charged with theft & sentenced to transportation. An attorney’s clerk aged 23, he arrived in Sydney per Marquis of Hastings. 2 years later transferred to Van Diemen’s Land as clerk to naval officer Drummond. Laing’s first wife, Esther Roberts arrived in VDL in 1816 & they reared a family of 5 children. Appointed Chief District Constable of Sorell, he was present at the famous Brady raid there in 1825. He remarried in 1850 & had a further 2 children. There are many descendants, eg Reardon, Dodge. Like many Scottish emancipists, Laing had a continual problems with alcohol, losing his final position as warder at New Norfolk Asylum in 1862. Returning to the Sorell district, he drafted the Manuscript at Green Hills, Forcett, where he died in 1868 aged 77. His death was only recorded in one Launceston newspaper – he has no headstone.
The Alexander Laing 1863 Music Manuscript.
The rediscovered document contains 242 tunes. While most are traditional Scottish tunes & other popular dances of the era, at least 64 are original tunes by Laing, & consist of jigs, reels, strathspey, hornpipes & waltzes, indicating they were meant for dancing. Laing’s own tunes mix with other popular melodies of the day, especially those from Scotland, including those by Niel Gow, Allan Ramsay & Robert Burns – these dating from the 18th century.
Copy of Music Manuscript from Tasmanian Archives
Alexander Laing Manuscript Detail 2017 (PDF)
On the Fiddle from Scotland to Tasmania.
Laing’s manuscript was shared with Tasmanian folklorists Steve & Marjorie Gadd, then teaching at MacFie Music, Hobart. Deciding to publish, Peter MacFie described the history behind the tunes, while the Gadds converted them to readable melodies, plus chords for accompaniment. Laing’s tunes & their history was self-published in On the Fiddle From Scotland to Tasmania, (foreword by Dr Peter Hay, folklorist & poet) & launched at the National Folk Festival, Canberra in 2010.