Annotation:Kitty Sharpe's Champion

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KITTY SHARPE'S CHAMPION (JIG). American, 'Sand' Dance (cut time). G Major ('A' & 'B' parts), C Major ('C' part) & E Minor or G Major ('D' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDDEE (Cole): AA'BB'CC'DE. The first part is similar to the "Inimitable Reel in Ryan's." In the book, it is labeled a 'jig,' referring to a type of syncopated old time banjo and fiddle tune in 2/4 or 2/2 time rather than the more familiar Irish 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8 jigs. Kitty Sharpe was a singer and dancer active from 1871 to 1893, the wife of English-born circus clown and gymnast James Cassim. She performed frequently with Cassim and his partner Edwin Fritz until Cassim's death in a railway accident in 1879. Later in her career Sharpe was particularly noted for her variety hall performances of the "sand jig," danced as a series of slides and shuffles on a sand-strewn stage. The tune named for her bears a distinct stylistic resemblance to "Kitty O'Neil's Champion," which was named for a more famous sand jigger, and which also first appeared in Ryan's collection. Both tunes may well have been composed by the same anonymous hand.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 84. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 2), c. 1880's; no. 426, p. 48. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 84.

Recorded sources:

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