Hello! Ask me (almost) anything about traditional music.
Annotation:Tivoli (Jig)
X:1 T:Tivoli M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:D (c/d/) | eee eee | efe cBA | ddd fed | cAc e2 (c/d/) | eee eee | efd cBA | ddd fga | gec d2 :| |: (f/g/) | aga fef | fed cBA | ddd fed | cAc e2(f/g/) | aaf gge | ffd cBA | ddd fga | gec d2 :|
TIVOLI. AKA and see "Bounce Upon Bess," "Come All You Good Fellows,” "Kissing and Drinking (3)," "Larry O Lashem," "Parson in Boots (1)," "Parson in Boots (2)," "Paddy's Trip from Dublin," "Priest and his Boots (1) (The)," “Rocking the Cradle (2),” "There are sounds of mirth." Irish, American; Jig (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The 'Tivoli' title for the tune may be American, but the provenance of the tune lies in Ireland and Britain, and antecedents can be found in Playford's publications. "Tivoli", for example, is very close to "Priest and his Boots (1) (The)" as printed in London by Straight and Skillern in their Two Hundred and Four Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1 (c. 1775). See note for "annotation:Priest and his Boots (1) (The)" for remarks on this tune family..
The source for the title in Ryan's Mammoth may have to do with a game of chance. In the 19th century the name Tivoli, among other things, referred to a gambling game similar to Skittles, often played in New York City beer gardens and similar establishments. The Times, in April 1860, recorded that it was played in the Volksgarten (the name of a German beer garden), and was “an innocent little game in which you send a ball spinning among a lot of pins which, if touched by the ball, is placed to the credit of the player. You are admitted to the game on the payment of five cents; any number can play that choose; and the winner—the individual that makes the greatest count—takes two thirds of the money, the balance going to the Tivoli machine”[1].
- ↑ McNamara, The New York Concert Saloon: The Devil’s Own Nights, 2002, p. 99
