In the 19th century the fashion emerged to use folk music as thematic material for ‘serious’ music. Scottish and Irish folk tunes became very popular. Variations on a Scottish Air (aka Ye Banks and Braes of Bonny Doon) by Fernando Sor is a quite extensive example.
Mauro Giuliani (1781- 1829) was no exception, he arranged Irish folk songs in his Six Airs Irlandois nationales (op. 125) and Scottish tunes appeared in his Sei Aria Nazionali Scozzesi. Jenny’s Bawbee originates from the Scottish collection.
The folk-dance feeling is obvious in the first phrases indeed! Then Giuliani starts to insert existing patterns from other compositions, turning this piece into a potpourri of typical Giuliani feats. In the last section he goes too far and copies the major part of Terpsichore du Nord Nr. 1. You start wondering about a fit of Scottish avarice here! It is a curious piece indeed!