Annotation:North Star Hornpipe

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NORTH STAR HORNPIPE. American, Hornpipe. B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune, probably found in a copy of Coles 1000 Fiddle Tunes (1940), was recorded by mid-20th century Cape Breton stalwart fiddlers Winston Fitzgerald [1] (1914–1987) and John Campbell (1929-2010). Fitzgerald paired the tune with "Vinton's Hornpipe", another piece from Ryan's Mammoth Collection (1883) also in the key of B flat. However, despite this influence it does not appear to have been assumed into Cape Breton tradition.

John Forster Charlton (1916–89), a fiddler and Northumbrian smallpipe player who lived in Gateshead (originally from Alnwick), also composed a "North Star Hornpipe" but it is a different tune.

Source for notated version: Winston Fitzgerald (Cape Breton) [Cranford].

Printed sources: Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 96. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 20, p. 8. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 131.

Recorded sources: Rodeo RO.115 (78 RPM), Winston Fitzgerald (). Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald - "House Parties and 78s."

See also listing at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Index [2]

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