Annotation:King George the III's Minuet
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KING GEORGE THE III'S MINUET. AKA - "Congress Minuet," "Goose's Minuet (The)." English, American; Minuet (3/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A popular late 18th century tune, judging from the number of times it appears in period musicians' manuscripts. The tune appears in the Revolutionary War era manuscript of Captain George Bush, under the title "Congress Minuet." Evidently the title honouring English King George III was anathma to him, although the tune was not. The melody appears as "King George III's Minuet" in several period American musicians' copybooks, including those of Timothy Swan (Northfield, Mass., 1775), John Greenwood (1785), Cushing Eells (Norwich, Conn., 1789), Micah Hawkins (New York, 1794), George White (Cherry Valley, N.Y., 1790), Ralph Pomeroy (New Haven and Hartford, Conn., 1790), and Daniel Henry Huntington (Onondoga, N.Y., 1817). In England, the melody appears in the music manuscript book of William Clarke (Lincoln, 1770). Under the unique title "Goose's Minuet (The)" it appears in the music manuscript collection of English ship's fiddler William Litten (1800).
Source for notated version: the music manuscript book of Captain George Bush (1753?-1797), a fiddler and officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution [Keller].
Printed sources: Keller (Fiddle Tunes from the American Revolution), 1992; p. 9 (appears as "Congress Minuet"). Morrison (Twenty-Four Early American Country Dances, Cotillions & Reels, for the Year 1976), 1976; p. 15. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1816; p. 169.
Recorded sources:
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