Blazing Comet (The)

 BLAZING COMET, THE. English, Jig. England, Yorkshire. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Halley's comet, the most visible returning comet, made its appearance in the Victorian era in 1834, which may have been in Yorkshire musician Lawrence Leadley's mind when he included the melody in his manuscript collection. However, the tune predates this appearance of the comet, and can be found in Samuel, Ann and Peter Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 5 (London, 1788). Halley's was visible in 18th century in 1759, although the tune may have been named for some other stellar phenomenon, or perhaps was euphemistic. Source for notated version in print: a MS collection by fiddler Lawrence Leadley, 1827-1897 (Helperby, Yorkshire) [Merryweather & Seattle]. Printed sources: Merryweather & Seattle (The Fiddler of Helperby), 1994; p. 44. Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 5), 1788; p. 55.

X:1 T:The Blazing Comet M:6/8 L:1/8 B:Thompson - Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol 5 (1788) K:D DFA AFA|Bcd cde|DFA AFA|eEE E3|DFA AFA|Bcd cde| GeG Fdc|dAF D3::dfd ecA|Bcd AFD|dfd ecA|eEE E2F| GFG AGA|Bcd AFD|Gbe cAc|dAF D3:||

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