THE ROSEBUD OF ALLENVALE was composed in January 2022. It’s based on an original air by the great Scottish fiddle-composer and dancing master J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927), originally published in 1922 in his Cairngorn Series #9. Skinner dedicated it to his cousin Jessie Macdonald, wife of James Macdonald who was the gardener at Allenvale Cemetery, Aberdeen, Scotland, where Skinner himself is now buried. The tune is known by various names, including "Rose of Sharon Waltz," "Rose of Allendale," "Rosebud/Rose of Avonmore," "Roses of Ava Moore," and "Rose of Ever Moore," among others.

My interest in the melody arose through my curiosity about my ancestry. My father was adopted as a toddler by a man named Rouse, but his birth father was a Graham. Because of my father's early separation from his father and subsequent lack of contact with him, I don't know much about my Graham heritage. I discovered that Clan Graham was an important Scottish clan, and that initiated my research into traditional Scottish music, which led me to the music of J. Scott Skinner and to "The Rosebud of Allenvale."

My setting of the melody is continually reharmonized throughout and includes considerable new material, especially in the music that connects statements of the original melody, such as the beginning, m.20, m.38, etc. The key signatures are Eb, F (m.22), C (m.42), and a return to Eb (m.62) for the boldest statement of the melody, with Eb continuing until the end.

"The Rosebud of Allenvale"requires considerable expressive focus, but its technical requirements are in the intermediate/grade 3 range.

– Steve Rouse

Cover photo by baramyou070840680