Annotation:Czar of Russia's Favorite

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CZAR OF RUSSIA'S FAVORITE. AKA and see "West's Hornpipe." American, Hornpipe. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The Czar of Russia immediately prior to the publication of the hornpipe in 1883 by Boston publisher Elias Howe (Ryan's Mammoth Collection) was Alexander II (1818–81), who sold Alaska to the United States in 1867. After his assassination he was succeeded by his son, Alexander III (1845–94). The hornpipe perhaps commemorates one or the other. However, the melody is printed in Kerr's Merry Melodies vol. 1 (c. 1880) as "West's Hornpipe," the tune and title both being found considerably before that in Preston's Twenty-Four Country Dances for the Year 1798 (London). The "Czar of Russia" title seems to stem from Howe's publications, and it is likely that he (or someone in his employ) changed the name of "West's Hornpipe."

Source for notated version: James Bryan (Ala.) [Phillips].

Printed sources: Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 114. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 189. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 151.

Recorded sources: Rounder 0175, James Bryan - "Lookout Blues" (1983).

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