Veronika Cianchettini, Three Favorite National Airs Arranged as Rondos: From the Freedman Collection: Three Rondos

Cianchettini’s “Three Favorite National Airs, Arranged as Rondos for the Piano Forte” [ca. 1803] is the second set from the bound artifact in the Freedman collection. This set contains arrangements of “Speed the Plough,” “Tartan Pladdie,” and “Drops of Brandy,” which are all tunes that appear to originate in Scotland. “Speed the Plough,” the first to appear in this set, demonstrates a typical rondo form (ABACA plus coda with B modulating to the dominant key, C moving to the parallel minor of the tonic key, and the coda returning the piece to the tonic key). The rondo form for “Tartan Pladdie” and “Drops of Brandy” is somewhat less clear, with less frequent returns to the theme and more fragmented appearances of it.

Each rondo showcases the range of capabilities of the newly popular fortepiano at the end of the 18th century. The final rondo, “Drops of Brandy,” has a particularly large range, spanning from C2-A6. A key characteristic of Dussek’s writing that shines through in these rondos is the variation in accompaniment style throughout each piece. This is especially evident in the first two rondos, which frequently cycle through block chords, Alberti bass figures, and varied chord voicings that create pedal tones in the bass voice. 

Cianchettini seems to attempt to imitate the sounds of Scottish music in all three of these rondos. She uses grace notes in each rondo, but especially in “Drops of Brandy,” to imitate the ornaments of a bagpipe. While the melody of “Speed the Plough” is left mostly intact, “Drops of Brandy” has been embellished generously. “Tartan Pladdie” is based on the melody of a song called “Lady Loudon.” It is unclear whether these songs are one and the same, but the melody of “Lady Loudon” is clearly the melody used in this piece and is also unaltered in this arrangement.