Annotation:Minuet in Nancy

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MINUET IN NANCY. English, Minuet (3/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. From the music manuscript copybook of Henry Livingston, Jr. Livingston purchased the estate of Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1771 at the age of 23. In 1775 he was a Major in the 3rd New York Regiment, which participated in Montgomery's invasion of Canada in a failed attempt to wrest Montreal from British control. An important land-owner in the Hudson Valley, and a member of the powerful Livingston family, Henry was also a surveyor and real estate speculator, an illustrator and map-maker, and a Justice of the Peace for Dutchess County. He was also a poet and musician, and presumably a dancer, as he was elected a Manager for the New York Assembly's dancing season of 1774-1775, along with his 3rd cousin, John Jay, later U.S. Chief Justice of Governor of New York. The ballad opera Nancy, or The Parting Lovers, was written by London composer, poet and musician Henry Carey (1687-1743) in 1739. Carey's most famous song was "Sally in Our Alley," and "God Save the King" is often attributed to him. He was a pupil of Thomas Roseingrave and Francesco Geminiani, and wrote numerous songs, several libretti and a few other ballad operas.

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