Annotation:L'Abbé
X:1 T:L'Abbé M:2/4 L:1/8 N:"Compos'd by a young Lady" N:"Danced by Mr. Holland" R:Country Dance B:John Watlen - The Celebrated Circus Tunes (Edinburgh, 1791, p. 5) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:Eb B|e2e2|e/f/g gg|afff|bgeB|e2e2|e/f/g gg|afed|ee3!End!:|| f2g2|a2g2|f2g2|a2g2|BBcc|ddee|cc=AA|!fermata!B3!D.C.!||
L'ABBÉ. Scottish (?), Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). E Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune was "composed by a lady," a common attribution when a member of the gentry composed music and wished to remain anonymous (as composing was regarded as unladylike in some social circles). John Watlen, in whose Celebrated Circus Tunes (Edinburgh, 1791) the melody appears, noted the it was a tune danced to by a 'Mr. Holland' at the Royal Circus in Edinburgh. London equestrian and promoter Phillip Astley opened an Edinburgh branch of his London-based Royal Circus, providing an alternate entertainment to the opera or theater, where equestrian acts, acrobatics, song and dance, and pantomime could be enjoyed. There were several period performers named Holland, and it is unknown which one Watlen referred to.
