Annotation:New Year's Day (1)
X:1 T:New Year's Day M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Country Dance B:James Aird - Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 3 (Glasgow, 1788, No. 446, p. 173) N:"Humbly dedicated to the Volunteers and Defensive Bands of Great Britain and Ireland" Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:F A|FGA fgf|fFF F2A|(FGF) (fgf)|gGG G2A| FGF fgf fcb{b}a2g|fed cAf|cADF F2:| |:A|(cdc) (ABA)|cdc A2d|cdc fga|gGG G2A| (cdc) (ABA)|c2b {b}a2g|fed cAf|cAF F2:|]
NEW YEAR'S DAY [1]. Scottish, Jig. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune first appears in Alexander Reinagle's [1] (1756–1809) publication A Collection of the Most Favorite Scots Tunes (1782), according to Charles Gore. The jig was printed in several different collections, attesting to its popularity.
Reinagle was an English-born composer, organist and theater musician who learned his craft and practiced in Edinburgh, before emigrating to the United States in 1786. He arrived in New York, and then moved to Philadelphia where he helped to revitalize the new country's music during George Washington's first presidencies.