Annotation:Don Fisco
X:1 T:Don Fisco M:2/4 L:1/8 S:John Greenwood music manuscript collection (p. 31) N:Manuscript book of music given to Greenwood by a British fife-major, N:probably after 1780. According to 'Early American Secular Music and N:Its European Sources, 15891839: An Index', viewed August 6, 2012), N:the music is probably for German flute or violin, and it is a leisure N:collection for a gentleman and not music for use in the military as some N:sources suggest. N:Fife-major, 15th Massachusetts Regiment; he later became a dentist in New York City K:D f|e/g/e/c/ df|e/g/e/c/ dA|BA Bc|(d/c/d/e/) df| e/g/e/c/ df|e/g/e/c/ dA|BA Bc|d3:|| |:g|f/a/f/d/ f/a/f/d/|g/b/g/e/ g/b/g/e/|f/a/f/d/ f/a/f/d/|c/e/c/e/ Ag| f/a/f/d/ f/a/f/d/|g/b/g/e/ g/b/g/e/|f/a/f/d/ e/g/e/c/|d3 :|]
DON FISCO. AKA - "Donfisco." AKA and see "Aldridge's Allemand", "Ridotto al Fresco," "Unity." American, Hornpipe or Reel (2/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody was included by amateur flute or violin player John Greenwood (1760-1819) in music commonplace book of c. 1785. In print "Don Fisco" can be found in Joshua Cushing's Fifer's Companion No. 1, printed in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1805. Dance instructions for the dance "Don Fisco" can be found in Nancy Shepley's commonplace book (Pepperell, Mass.) of 1794, and in a 1795 New Hampshire manuscript of country dances [New Hampshire Historical Society]. As "Donfisco" it was entered into Joseph Merrill's 1795 copybook (Topsham, Maine) and dance figures for it were penned into Lucy Muzzey's (Vermont) commonplace book of the same year.
The tune was printed in England in 1773 by the Thompsons under the title "Ridotto al Fresco", which may be the original form of the American "Don Fisco" title. In 1780 it appeared in Scottish bandleader Alexander McGlashan's collection as "Aldridge's Allemand," named for a famous stage dancer.
