Annotation:Beaus of Kildare
X:1 % T:Quick Step M:2/4 L:1/8 R:March S: Seth Johnson – Woburn Fife Manuscript (c. 1807-40?, p. 48) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:D D2 FA|df/e/ d/c/B/A/|B>A Bb|a/f/d/e/ fe| D>A FA|df/e/ d/c/B/A/|B>A B/c/d/B/|A/F/E/F/ D2:| |:fa af|af/e/ dA|Bb ba|ba/g/ fe| fa af|af/e/ dA|B>A B/c/d/B/|A/F/E/F/ D2:|]
BEAUS OF KILDARE. AKA and see "Beaus of Albany (4)." Irish (?), American; March or (2/4 time). D Major (Woburn): C Major (O'Flannagan). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The provenance for the tune, or even its original function, is unknown. It appears in two publications of the Elias Howe music publishing company of Boston, issues around the same time; in Patrick O'Flannagan's Hibernian Collection (1860) it appears as "Beaus of Kildare", while in Howe's Musician's Omnibus No. 1 (1862) it is given as "Beaus of Albany (4)." In both these publications it is supposed to have been a country dance or quadrille. However, an earlier prototype of the melody is to be found in the Woburn Fife Manuscript as an untitled Quick Step. The fife manuscript collection is inscribed with the the name Seth Johnson and "Woburn. April 20th day, 1807. I Bought this Book, 5:3." Entries were made between 1807 and as late as 1840, but predate the known Howe publications. An Irish provenance for the tune is supported only by its inclusion in a volume labelled a "Hibernian" collection, but Irish origins may or may not be further established.