Annotation:To Arms (1)
X:1 T:To Arms [1] M:6/8 L:1/8 R:March S:fifer Thomas Nixon’s c. 1776-78 music copybook [1] Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G G<AG g<fg|e<de d3|G<AG g<fg|e3 d3| G<AG g<fg|e<de dcB|cec BdB|A3 G3:| |:Bcd d2d|edc B3|Bcd dgd|cBA G3:|]
TO ARMS [1]. AKA and see "Gamest Toast (The)," "General Toast (The)" "General Trust (The)," "Here's to the Maiden." English, American; March (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. There are several melodies with the invocative title "To Arms," going back to composer Henry Purcell's air "To Arms" from his opera Boduca (1695), and probably before. "To Arms [1]", however, is a version of "General Toast (The)" from the English stage play School for Scandal (1777).
Set as a march it is contained in several American musicians' manuscript collections from the period of the American War of Independence, and was published for decades after in fife manuals.
