Annotation:Spark's Rant
X:1 T: Spark's Rant C: Neil Stewart, 1761 M:C| K:G G|:DEGAB2GB|cABG E/E/E EG|DEGAB2Be|dBgB G/G/G G2:| GBdg dBGB cABG E/E/E E2|GBdg dBGB|cAdB G/G/G G2| GBdg dBGB cABG E/E/E E2|DEGAB2Be|dBgB G/G/G G2|]
SPARK'S RANT. AKA and see "Circus (3) (The)," "Lord Garlie," "Lord Garlie's Reel (2)." Scottish, Reel (whole time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Edinburgh music publisher Neil Stewart published "Spark's Rant" in his Collection of the Newest and Best Reels or Country Dances (p. 22, variously dated 1761 or 1775). A nearly identical version was printed by Ayrshire fiddler-composer John Riddell in his Collection of the Most Favourite Scots Tunes (1782, p. 18) under the title "Lord Garlie's Reel (2)." Yet another name for the tune was supplied by J.T. Surenne in his Dance Music of Scotland (1852, p. 128), where it appears as "Circus (3) (The)." The reel was entered by Cumbrian multi-instrumentalist John Rook into his large 1840 music manuscript collection as "Spark's Rant."
