Annotation:Highland Hornpipe (1)

Back to Highland Hornpipe (1)

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HIGHLAND HORNPIPE. AKA and see "High Level Hornpipe (1)," "Velocipede Hornpipe." American, English (originally); Hornpipe. B Flat major ('A' part) & F major ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The title is perhaps a miss-hearing of the title "High Level Hornpipe (1)," a tune composed by Northumbrian fiddler James Hill (born ca. 1813-1818, died late 1860′s), of which "Highland Hornpipe" is a version. The High Level Bridge spans the River Tyne, and connects Newcastle and Gateshead in Northumberland, north England. Canadian radio and TV fiddler Don Messer and his band The Islanders recorded the tune under the "Highland Hornpipe" title in 1947. In the middle of the recording he plays "Earl Mitton's Breakdown" before returning to the first tune (a setting that is said to have originated with Canadian fiddlers Tommy Linkletter, or to Sid Plamador in the 1940's).

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 90 (and p. 110 as "Velocipede Hornpipe"). Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 123.

Recorded sources: Apex 26296 (78rpm), Don Messer & His Islanders (1947). MCA Records MCAD 4037, "The Very Best of Don Messer" (1994).

See also listing at:
Hear Don Messer's 1947 Recording [1] [2]

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