Annotation:Bill Charlton's Fancy

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BILL CHARLTON'S FANCY. English, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD Composed by Northumbrian smallpipes player Billy Pigg (1902-1968), who was inspired by raindrops running down a window-pane. His friend Bill Charlton liked it, so Pigg named it for him. The latter two parts are variation sets, and the fourth shifts to 2/4 time. Bill Charlton was a piper and a member of an influential piping family in Northumberland, along with his brother Forster. The Northumbrian Gathering of smallpipe musicians, was first organized by Bill Charlton (see Pigg's tune "Northumbrian Gathering"). Charlton himself honored Pigg by saying, "His playing, to me, seemed to typify the wild hills and moorland." Pigg was Vice President of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society from 1930.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Northumbrian Piper's Tune Book, 1970; p. 16.

Recorded sources: Front Hall FHR-08, Alistair Anderson - "Tradtional Tunes" (1976). Leader LER 4006, Billy Pigg - "The Border Minstrel."

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