Annotation:Goose's Minuet (The)

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GOOSES MINUET, THE. AKA and see "Congress Minuet," "King George the III's Minuet." English, Minuet (3/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune was entered into a number of late 18th century musicians' manuscripts in England and America, usually under variants of the "King George the III's Minuet" title. Litten's "Gooses Minuet" is unique.

Source for notated version: Ship's fiddler William Litten, who sailed with the British East India Fleet on their voyage to the Orient in the first years of the 19th century. Unfortunately, next to nothing is known of Litten, but his music manuscript copybook came into the possession of seafarer Allen Coffin (b. 1788), a native of the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Coffin brought the book home with him when he returned to the island after his own travels, in the early 19th century [Huntington].

Printed sources: Huntington (William Linten's), 1977; p. 35.

Recorded sources: Folkways FD 6530, Old Grey Goose - "Maine Country Dance Music and Song" (1980).

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