>In response to Nigel's post, I'll pose a query in lieu of a tune-- > >Is anyone familiar with John Watlen's 1798 2nd collection, inscribed "The >Celebrated Circus Tunes performed at Edinburgh this Season..." > >I'm currently researching an article about fiddling and the circus, and have >seen this collection referenced a couple of times. My understanding is that >these are tunes performed in Edinburgh at the Royal Circus, a "franchise" of >Astley's Royal Circus in London, but thats about the extent of what I known, >or surmise, rather. Does anyone have any information or background on the >collection?
I've got a copy of it. They're piano reductions of orchestral stage scores. The ones I was interested in were, I think, taken from Shield and Loutherbourg's "Omai" (an operetta on Captain Cook's voyages) - I was researching a museum display on Cook at the time and thought it might be fun to include a period-piano performance of them (turned out there wasn't enough money). Absolutely *not* performable by lady fiddlers in tight bodices and short skirts balanced on one shapely leg on horseback, if that's what you're imagining. They are mildly interesting as an example of how the West perceived Polynesian culture but not much more than that. Probably the reason the arrangement was published in Edinburgh was that they couldn't afford to tour the band to Scotland, got Watlen to do the reduction so they could do it with a pianist instead, and he decided to get an extra few bob out of the work by publishing it. There would be more fiddle content in the London score if you can find it. The Bodleian would be a good place to look. =================== <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> =================== Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
