The story of a young woman who submits to male authority externally but not internally
Lynn Wollstad
Artist, composer and vocalist Hanna Tuulikki joined us briefly in Summer 2016 and January 2017 to begin research for a new performance project. Exploring places that are encoded within the Scottish classical ballads of the North-East, she concentrated on one particular ballad – Andrew Lammie, also known as Mill O’ Tifty and Mill O’ Tifty’s Annie (Child 233; Greig-Duncan 1018).
Set in the parish of Fyvie, it features a number of specific sites in the landscape, and tells the story of Annie, a young woman who is having a secret love affair with Andrew Lammie, the Laird of Fyvie’s trumpeter. Her father, the Miller of Tifty, discovers their relationship and, furious, he writes to the laird denouncing Andrew Lammie, accusing him of witchcraft. Andrew is ordered away and the Laird makes his own proposal of marriage, which Annie refuses. For this she is punished by her family, imprisoned in a locked room at the mill, and then violently beaten to death by her father and brother. She dies in her bed, her face turned towards Fyvie.
Using these research periods, Hanna will develop a performance that will animate various aspects of Mill o’ Tifty’s Annie through music and spoken word, highlighting the ballad’s relevance for today.
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