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Annotation:Maid of Lodi
X:1 T:Maid of Lodi M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Air S:O'Farrell - Pocket Companion, vol. IV (1810) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:G D | G2G B2G | F2E z2c | Bd G A2 dF | G2 z z2D :|| G | F2D d2F | AG z z2G | F2D d2F | G2z z2D | d2d {e}d{c}B G2 | F E2 g2e | dBG AdF | G2z z2D | d2d e/d/c/B/A/G/ | e2e g/f/a/g/f/e/ | dGB {d}cAF | G2z BG ||
MAID OF LODI, THE. English, Air (6/8 time). G Major (Cahusac, O'Farrell): B Flat Major (Howe): D Major (Riley). Standard tuning (fiddle). One part: AAB (O'Farrell): ABB (Cahusac): AABB (Howe, Riley). The music for "Maid of Lodi" was collected by English popular violinist and composer William Shield (1748-1829) while on a tour of Italy. It was a popular ballad in the first decades of the 19th century, a favorite of Byron and of Sir Walter Scott (according to Thomas Carlyle), and was frequently arranged in several forms for various instruments. "Maid of Lodi" was entered into several 19th century musicians' manuscript collections, including those of flute player William Killey (Jurby, Isle of Man), James Winder (Lancashire, 1835-41), John Moore (Shropshire, c. 1837-40), and Joshua Gibbons (Lincolnshire).
The tune was a favorite in America, and was frequently published and entered into musicians' copybooks and manuscript collections during the first three decades of the 19th century. Carr (Philadelphia) published variations on "The Maid of Lodi" in his Applicazione addocita: Twelve Airs & Ground with Variations, or Arranged as Rondos in the Different Major & Minor Keys Chiefly in Use (1809). There is a setting for unaccompanied flute by Nicholson in the Selection of Beauties published by Fentum, and it is also included in Riley's Flute Melodies (New York, Edward Riley, 1814). As with many popular and 'singable' melodies, the tune was employed as the vehicle for other period broadside ballads.
