Friday 12 October 2018
Tune of the Day: Old Virginia
Traditional reel
As far as we can tell, the only appearance of this melody under the title “Old Virginia” is in Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. It is interesting to note how the piece is designated as a ‘reel’, which usually denotes a fast duple-time tune, even though this melody is in 6/8 or jig time.
The tune is however very similar to the English jig “Off She Goes”, which dates back to the late 18th century and of which “Old Virginia” is probably just a variation (thanks to Tom for noting this).