Annotation:Prince of Mecklenburg's Jigg (The)
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PRINCE OF MECKLENBURG’S JIGG, THE. English, Jig. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is unique to London publisher Charles and Samuel Thompson’s 1765 country dance collection. The Prince of Mecklenburg-Strelitz at the time of the Thompson’s publication was George Augustus [1] (1748-1785), who was the brother of England’s Queen Charlotte Sofie (1744-1818), wife of George III. He was an officer in the 4th Regiment of the Austrian-Salzburg Dragoons, and attained the rank of Major-General in the Austrian army before his death. Scottish lawyer and biographer James Boswell (Dr. Johnson’s amanuensis) met the Prince a few times at the Hague in 1764, and dined and played billiards with him.
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The melody appears in the 1770 music manuscript collection of Northumbrian musician William Vickers under the title "Prince of Wales Jig (2) (The)."
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2), 1765; No. 127.
Recorded sources: