Annotation:Blanchard's Hornpipe (2)
X:1 T:Blanchard's Hornpipe [2] M:C L:1/8 R:Hornpipe N:"Danc'd by Mr. Aldrige" B:John Watlen - The Celebrated Circus Tunes (Edinburgh, 1791, p. 11) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D dAFA GBAG|FAFA GBAG|FDFD GEGE|AFED DCB,A,| dAFA GBAG|FAFA GBAG|FdBg fdec|d2d2d2:| |:ecAc ecge|fdAd fdaf|ecAc ecaf|edcB A4| BGDG BGdB|AFDF AFdA|AFdB AFGE|D2D2D2z2:|]
BLANCHARD'S HORNPIPE [2]. AKA - "Fisher's Hornpipe," "Fisherman's Lilt (3)," "O'Dwyer's Hornpipe (2)," "Wigs on the Green." Scottish, Irish; Hornpipe (whole time). D Major (MacDonald, O'Connor): G Major (Aird). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is almost universally known as "Fisher's Hornpipe" nowadays, but was first published under the "Blanchard's" title in John Watlen's Celebrated Circus Tunes (Edinburgh, 1791), a reference to Edinburgh's Royal Circus, and extension of Phillip Astley's London-based Royal Circus. Watlen noted it was "Danced to by Mr. Aldridge," referring to Robert Aldridge, one of the principal dancers for the Edinburgh circus in the 1791 season. As "Blauchard's [sic] Hornpipe" the tune was entered in the key of 'D' in the mid-19th century music manuscript of William Winter, a shoemaker and violin player who lived in West Bagborough in Somerset (Winter also entered another version as "Hornpipe in F" later in his collection).
In Ireland, "Blanchard's Hornpipe" appears in a violin player's manuscript collection made by one William Goulding of Hammond Marsh, Co. Cork, dated 1818, set in the key of G Major. It was also collected in south County Armagh by the Rev. Luke Donnellan in the very early 20th century, and it was entered into Book 3 of the c. 1883 music manuscript collection of County Leitrim piper and fiddler biography:Stephen Grier.
The title perhaps is associated with the daring 1785 balloon flight of French inventor Jean-Pierre Blanchard [1] (1753-1809), who made the first flight over the English Channel, taking about 2½ hours to travel from England to France, flying from Dover Castle to Guînes. Blanchard, who toured extensively demonstrating his balloons and parachutes, was awarded a substantial pension by Louis XVI.
