Annotation:Portland Fancy (2)

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PORTLAND FANCY REEL [2]. AKA - "Reel for a Portland Fancy." American, Reel. USA, New Hampshire. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCC.

The piece is an untitled reel from the music manuscript collection of early 20th century New Hampshire fiddler John Taggart (1854–1943), meant to be played for the dance Portland Fancy. Taggart, originally from Sharon, N.H., wrote an memoir called "Recollection of a Busy Life" (1938), and included a number of dance tunes and ballads. While he learned his fiddling from the age of 12 from his father, other family members and neighbors, Taggart received some formal musical education while working later in life in Greenfield, Mass., where he was a member of Putnam's Orchestra in 1877 and Steigleder's Orchestra. In 1881 he married and formed his own orchestra, which played western Massachusetts venues for the next fourteen years.

Source for notated version: New Hampshire Fiddlers' Union [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 186.

Recorded sources: Front Hall Records, FHR 204C, New Hampshire Fiddlers Union - "The Music of John Taggart" (1992).