Annotation:Great Eastern Polka (The)
X:1 T:Great Eastern Polka, The M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Polka S:Breathnach - CRÉ V, No. 108 K:G B/c/ | d/B/G/g/ fe | A/B/c/A/ BG | E/F/G/E/ F/G/A/F/ | G/A/B/c/ d^c | d/B/G/g/ fe | A/B/c/A/ BG | E/F/G/E? F/G/A/F/ | GB G :| K:D F/G/ | A/^G/A/d/ cB | {d}c/B/A/g/ fe | {g}f/e/f/d/ Be | {d}c/B/c/A/ fd | {B}A/^G/A/d/ cB | {d}c/B/A/g/ fe | {g}f/e/f/d/ Be | {d}c/B/c/A/ d :||
GREAT EASTERN POLKA. English, Irish; Polka (2/4 time). G Major ('A' part) & D Major ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The composition is attributed to C. Coote Junr. by Trim. Charles Coote, Junior (1831-1916), was a Victorian-era British composer of light music and dance tunes, including the "Corn Flower Waltz," the "Bric a Brac Polka" and other generally forgettable melodies, though he was very successful in his time. However, the British Library orchestral and piano arrangements credit his equally prolific father, Charles Coote Sr. (1808-80), as composer. The piece was featured in the burlesque Alladin; or, The Wonderful Lamp, written by H.J. Byron and staged at London's Strand Theatre in April, 1861.
The title 'Great Eastern' probably honors one of three great transatlantic steamships designed by Isambad Kingdom Brunel (whose father was Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, 1769-1849, a French-born engineer resident in England after the Revolution who constructed the first tunnel under the Thames, still in use today as part of the London Underground). The Great Eastern was launched in 1858, the largest ship ever built at the time, having the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refueling. In part because of its gigantic size, the Great Eastern laid some of the first transatlantic cables in 1866. She ended her life as a floating Music Hall and was scrapped in 1888-1889.
