Annotation:Gloucester Hornpipe (1) (The)

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GLOUCESTER HORNPIPE [1], THE. AKA and see "Man from Newry (The)," "Men of Wrexham's (The)," "Swansea Hornpipe (The)." English, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABB. The title was popularized through the playing of fiddler Stephen Baldwin (1873-1955), of Upton Bishop, Herefordshire, who recorded it for Russell Wortley in 1954. The title "Gloucester Hornpipe" seems idiosyncratic to Baldwin, who had called the tune by a different name, "Liverpool Hornpipe", two years earlier, when BBC collector Peter Kennedy visited him. Stephen's father, Charles Baldwin had another, different "Gloucester Hornpipe (2)," which was noted down in 1910 by collector Cecil Sharp. Although the name "Gloucester Hornpipe" for the tune seems to have been derived from Baldwin, the melody is certainly predates him and appears in older tune books as "Swansea Hornpipe (The)." Francis O'Neill printed a version he obtained from Sgt. James O'Neill called "Man from Newry (The)." See also the Welsh variant "Pibddawns Gwŷr Wrecsam"/"Pibddawns Gwyr Wrecsam" (Men of Wrexham).

The name Gloucester is derived from the Welsh who named the place Gloiu ('bright') and Nennius called it Caer Gloiu, meaning 'the shining fortress'. The presence of the Romans is evidence by the word ceaster in the name, which stuck in place of the Welsh caer (Matthews, 1972).

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 156.

Recorded sources: Musical Traditions MTCD334, Stephen Baldwin - "Here's One You'll Like, I Think" (2005). Wild Goose WGS 320, Old Swan Band - "Swan-Upmanship" (2004).

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