Annotation:London March (1)

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LONDON MARCH. AKA - "Berkshire March (The)," "Lord Loudon's March." English, March (4/4 time). England; Lincolnshire, Yorkshire. G Major (Merryweather & Seattle): D Major (Sumner). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Merryweather & Seattle): AABB (Sumner). The first part of the tune, with a different strain, is "Scotch Hornpipe (1) (The)" and "March of the Third Regiment of Guards." As "The London or Berkshire March" it was issued (on a single sheet?) by Edinburgh publisher Neil Stewart in 1795. However, the melody appears to have originated with Scottish musician, composer and publisher Robert Bremner (an expatriate who set up business in London) who published it in 1761 as "Lord Loudon's March."

Sources for notated versions: an MS collection by fiddler Lawrence Leadley, 1827-1897 (Helperby, Yorkshire) [Merryweather & Seattle]; the 1823-26 music mss of papermaker and musician Joshua Gibbons (1778-1871, of Tealby, near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire Wolds) [Sumner].

Printed sources: Aird (Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 4), 1796; No. 54, p. 21. Merryweather & Seattle (The Fiddle of Helperby), 1994; No. 108, p. 60. Sumner (Lincolnshire Collections, vol. 1: The Joshua Gibbons Manuscript), 1997; p. 76 (originally set in the key of 'C' major).

Recorded sources:

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