Naming Rights · Est. MCMLXXVI
The patron
who names
the tune.
A single composition from the archive of David Duncan Mackay, named by you, and entered into the record with the National Library of Scotland.
An older tradition.
The naming of a tune is an act older than publication. Niel Gow composed for the Atholl family; William Marshall dedicated pieces to the Marquis of Huntly; James Scott Skinner named works for his patrons across Scotland. The patron's name, once entered into the manuscript, remained there, carried through every subsequent printing, teaching, and recording. It is not a transaction; it is an inscription.
David Duncan Mackay is the most prolific composer of Scottish fiddle music in history, with more than thirty thousand original works and the archive continuing to grow. Destined for deposit with the National Library of Scotland, the archive invites a small number of patrons to continue this tradition, to assume the ancient role of the one who names.
How patronage works
Select a composition.
A private list of available works is supplied to prospective patrons, strathspeys, reels, airs, and slow airs, each unclaimed and awaiting a dedication.
Propose a name.
The name may honour a person, a place, a family, or an occasion. The dedication is set as the composer intends and, once entered, is final.
Enter the record.
The work is inscribed in the archive manuscript and deposited with the National Library of Scotland, where the name remains for as long as the music is played.
What you receive, as patron.
The naming right is accompanied by the hand-written original manuscript of the composition, on heritage paper, signed and dated by the composer and suitable for framing. A studio recording of the named tune is delivered in both physical and digital form, so that the family may hear the piece as performed by the composer.
Your name becomes part of the permanent catalogue. On deposit with the National Library of Scotland, it will be encountered by musicians, scholars, and historians long after the occasion of its naming. The name outlives you, the patron; the tune outlives you both.
The Archive invites enquiries.
Correspondence is welcomed. A brief conversation about the occasion, the name, and any preferences on mood or style is all that is required to begin.
Begin Correspondence