Annotation:March in Rinaldo

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MARCH IN RINALDO. AKA - "Handel's March in Rinaldo," "Royal Guards' March." English, Air. The melody was composed by Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) for his opera Rinaldo (1711, Act III), in which Handel himself played the keyboard and led the orchestra. There were revivals for "Rinaldo" in 1717 and 1731. The march was selected and arranged by Dr. Pepusch in his music for John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1729, Air 20, Act II), for the song "Let us take the road," sung by a chorus of highwaymen who are about to set off for Hounslow Heath. The melody entered English culture not through Handel's opera (which was well-received), but through Gay's stirring song.

Let us take the Road.
Hark! I hear the Sound of Coaches!
The Hour of Attack approaches,
To your Arms, brave Boys, and load.
See the Ball I hold!
Let the Chymists toil like Asses,
Our Fire their Fire surpasses,
And turns all our Lead to Gold.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p 56.

Recorded sources:

See also listing at:
Hear Gay's song on youtube.com [1]
David Lasky's pipe organ version on youtube.com [2]