Variations for 'Lady Mary', 'Forbes Morrison' & 'The Iron Man' by Scott Skinner

Alexander Grant (1856 - 1942) was a native of Battangorm, Carrbridge, which gave rise to his familiar name - 'Battan'. As a boy he was exposed to what were to become his two great passions - fiddling and fishing. He went on to excel in both areas; as an angler by inventing his own unique fishing rod known as the 'Grant Vibration Rod', and as a fiddler by leading the Highland Strathspey and Reel Society for almost forty years and by becoming an expert in fiddle making techniques. He also invented a unique disc-shaped violin known as a 'Rondello'. An example of Grant's fishing rod, fiddle and Rondello can be seen at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery (IMAG).<br /> <br /> Grant was a great friend of fellow musician and composer James Scott Skinner (1843-1927), a major figure in the development of Scottish traditional music, often referred to as 'The Strathspey King'. This note to Grant, in Skinner's hand (dated August 1913) contains variations for a few bars of the three strathspeys 'Lady Mary' (Nathaniel Gow), 'Forbes Morrison' (Skinner), and 'The Iron Man' (Skinner)