Annotation:Irish Air in the Poor Soldier (1)
X:1 % T:Irish Air in the Poor Soldier [1] M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Air B:Samuel, Anne & Peter Thompson – The Hibernian Muse B:(London, 1787, No. 103, p. 65) N:”A Collection of the most Favorite Compositions N:of Carolan the Celebrated Irish Bard” Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Amin c>dc e>de|c2A A2B|c2c ede|c2A G2A| G2G GAG|A2A A2f|efe a2f|e>de A2e| e2e egf|e2e efd|c2c e>de|c2A A2A| |:G2G GAG|A2A Aff|e2e a>ga|e2A A3:|
IRISH AIR IN THE POOR SOLDIER. Irish, Air (6/8 time). A Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABB. The Poor Soldier [1] is a two-act comic opera composed by William Shield to a libretto by Irish-born John O'Keefe, first staged in November, 1783, at Covent Garden. It tells of an Irish footsoldier returning from the wars in America, who finds his sweetheart being wooed by an upper-class officer, and the music employs, in part, traditional Irish airs sung to Shield by O'Keefe. The opera, coming after the Peace of Paris was signed, was said to have been a favorite of George Washington, and enjoyed wide popularity not only in Great Britian, but in North America as well (first produced professionally in America in December, 1785, in New York).