Bishop of Bangor's Jig
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X:1
T:Bishop of Bangor's Jigg
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:Jig
K:Emin
efg fge|^def B2e|dcB AGA|BcB B3:|
|:dBG cAF|BGE AFD|GAB A2G|GAG Gef|
ge^c af^d|bgb af^d|efg Be^d|e3 e3:||
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BISHOP OF BANGOR'S JIGG (Esgob Bangor). Welsh, English; Jig. England, North-West. E Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune appears in the 11th edition of Playford's Dancing Master of 1701, a publication that marked Henry Playford's taking over the series from his father John Playford. It was retained in subsequent editions through the 16th (1716). "Bishop of Bangor" was also published in John Walsh's Compleat Country Dancing Master (editions of 1718, 1731 and 1754). The word Bangor comes from the Welsh for a wattle fence, and referred to the fence that surrounded the monastic community founded there by St. Deiniol in the year 525. Deiniol was consecrated Bishop in 546 and his church became a cathedral, and the Bishopric dates continuously from that period. The most famous Bishop of Bangor (who never actually resided in Bangor) in Playford's time was Benjamin Hoadley, who was involved in a semi-political controversy known as Bangorism, really simply a plea for Protestantism and tolerance. Some suspect a popular song went to the tune. A simple dance for eight people is attached to the tune, generally used as a Sicilian circle.
Printed sources: Barlow (Complete Country Dance Tunes from Playford's Dancing Master), 1985; No. 416, p. 97. Knowles (Northern Frisk), 1988; No. 6. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; p. 11 (appears as "The Bishop of Bangor"). Williamson (English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes), 1976; p. 45.
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