Annotation:Norea's Wish
X:1 T:Norea's Wish M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Air Q:"Slow" B:Oswald – Caledonian Pocket Companion, Book 11 (1760, p. 116) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G (B>d) (F<G)|TE2D2|(B<d) (F<G)|TE2D2|c2 (B<g)| e2 (d<B)|(Ae) (d/c/B/A/)|(G2F)z|(B<d) (F<G)|TE2D2| (B<d) (F<G)|TE2D2|c2 (B<g)|d(c/d/) TAG|(Ac) (EF)| G4:| |:B2 (ed)|c (a<f)|(a<f)(a<f)|(f2 e) z|(f<a) (^c<d)| (B2 A)g|(fd)(B^c)|d3 B|(^GB)(d=f)|e(d/c/) B(A/=G/)| (Fe)(dc)|(c2 B)c|(dB)(ge)|(dB)(ge)|dg (f/e/d/c/)| (B2A) z|(B<d) (F<G)|TE2D2|(B<d) (F<G)|(E2 D)B| (c2B)g|e2 (g/e/)(d/B/)|(Ac) FA|G4:| M:6/8 L:1/8 "Brisk"G2d d2e|B2c d3|GFG A2B|c2B TA2G| G2d d2e|TB2c d3|GFG ABc|B2A G3:| c2B TA2G|TF2E D3|GFG A2B|c2B TA2G| c2B TA2G|TF2E D3|g2G ABc|B2A G2:|]
NOREA'S WISH. Scottish, Air (2/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune was claimed by cellist and composer James Oswald in the index to the Caledonian Pocket Companion. Wikipedia:James Oswald (composer) (1710–1769) had become a widower in 1756 when his wife Mary Ann died, but found another love in Leonora Robinson-Lytton, the spouse a Oswald's friend and musical ally, John Robinson-Lytton. When Leonora became widowed in 1762 she secretly married Oswald, despite the gap in social class (she was an aristocrat and he was a drummer's son). Nevertheless, the union seems to have been a happy one; two of Oswald's three daughters by his first marriage named their own daughters after her. As John Robinson-Lytton had owned Knebworth, one of England's greatest stately homes, Leonora inherited, and Oswald in effect became master of the estate. Oswald composed three tunes in the Caledonian Pocket Companion for Norea--a contraction of Leonora--“Norea's Scots Measure”, “Norea's Wish” and “Norea's lost to me”. She died in 1790.
