English Dance Tunes

[markwil]

I recently stumbled across a few tunes which I believe are English dance tunes. The names are Jamaica, Newcastle and Portsmouth. Are any of you familiar with these tunes and if so do you inow the history, etc associated with them?

 

Thanks

Mark

[Lester Bailey]

I play all these tunes and got them from 1000 English Dance Tunes (£22 from the Music Room). They are all in the section titled Tunes published before 1730. Newcastle is from John Playford's English Dancing Master.

Edited July 1, 2005 by Lester Bailey

[JimLucas]

I recently stumbled across a few tunes which I believe are English dance tunes.  The names are Jamaica, Newcastle and Portsmouth.  Are any of you familiar with these tunes and if so do you inow the history, etc associated with them?

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All three are old English country dances, which can be found in (among other places) The Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes, with the following source dates:

... Jamaica (1670)

... Newcastle (1651)

... Portsmouth (1701)

I think all were first published in the Playford collections of dance tunes, but I don't have time to cross check. I'll bet one of our other members knows for sure, though.

 

Edited to add: The Barnes book ("only" 436 tunes) is published in the US. I believe 1000 English Dance Tunes, mentioned by Lester is published in the UK. Which is easier for you to get may depend on where you live. There are many more fine tunes in either one.

Edited July 1, 2005 by JimLucas

[Chris Timson]

And for many more good English tunes hie you off to your nearest English music session, concertina in hand (may take a while, depending on which side of the Atlantic you are).

 

Chris

[Hilary]

Certainly Jamaica was published in the Playford books, the others I'm not sure about.

We use J. as a morris dance tune

[JimLucas]

Certainly Jamaica was published in the Playford books, the others I'm not sure about.

We use J. as a morris dance tune 

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The one we use is "Jamaica Farewell", to turn the dance "Highland Mary" into "Island Mary". And that is a different tune, isn't it?

[David Barnert]

The one we use is "Jamaica Farewell", to turn the dance "Highland Mary" into "Island Mary".  And that is a different tune, isn't it?  

I'm pretty sure Jim knows this, despite his use of the "unsure" smiley, but yes: "Jamaica" and "Jamaica Farewell" are two distinct and unrelated tunes. "Jamaica" also appears, however, as the tune to a broadside ballad called "Hey, Jolly Broom Man."

[markwil]

Thank you all for the info. These are really beautiful tunes. Any recommended recordings of this style of music? I play Anglo.

 

Mark

[Chris Timson]

The following article on this site by Roger Digby gives a good overview and history of English music as well as audio snippets and a good discography:- English Country Music – A Personal View. Also see the ongoing discussions about English style and dance.

 

Chris

Edited July 6, 2005 by Chris Timson

[Paul Read]

Do any of these tune books include chords?

[David Barnert]

Do any of these tune books include chords?

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A very complete book of ECD tunes, certainly with chords, is Peter Barnes' "The Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes" available at the Country Dance & Song Society's web site:

 

http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html#books

 

This book is considered a "standard" to such a degree that if you are playing a dance, you will often be told by the caller either that the tune's in Barnes or "here's the music."

[Howard Mitchell]

... "The Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes" ...

This book is considered a "standard" to such a degree that if you are playing a dance, you will often be told by the caller either that the tune's in Barnes or "here's the music."

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This only pertains on the left hand side of the Atlantic. In England it is more common to play from the source notation, e.g. the Playford book, Apted, Maggot Pie etc. Many bands I know don't have a copy of Barnes and some haven't even heard of it/him. Personally I'm suspicious of some of the chording in Barnes.

 

Howard Mitchell

[Chris Timson]

The best, most comprehensive, and most reflective of current practice, of all tunebooks at the present time that I know of is The Lewes Favourites. You can either buy the book from here, or you can download all the tunes directly for free from here. It's not chorded, but I consider this a good thing as most books that give chords tend to produce over-elaborate arrangements that do not suit English music very well.

 

Buy the book, and learn about the joys of dwyle flonking!

 

Chris

[Jeff Stallard]

Excellent thread! My favorite musical genre (to play at least) is English Country Dance, but sadly I only have one book (Kitchen Musician's book), then a few individual songs here and there. I'll be ordering one or two of the books mentioned above. Thank you all for the information!!

 

On a side note, this morning, I discovered the English tune "Bath Minuet" and quickly placed it in my top 20 tunes list. I love the combination of a rigid dance tune structure and the depth of a classical song, and there seems to be a lot of that in ECD.

[wes williams]

Portsmouth was also a minor 'hit' for Mike Oldfield a few years back. Now that's what I call 'a cover version' of an oldie

[Howard Mitchell]

Excellent thread!  My favorite musical genre (to play at least) is English Country Dance, but sadly I only have one book (Kitchen Musician's book), then a few individual songs here and there.  I'll be ordering one or two of the books mentioned above.  Thank you all for the information!!

 

On a side note, this morning, I discovered the English tune "Bath Minuet" and quickly placed it in my top 20 tunes list.  I love the combination of a rigid dance tune structure and the depth of a classical song, and there seems to be a lot of that in ECD.

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Jeff,

 

Be a little cautious. What is known as ECD in the States only covers a part of what is being refered to here as English Dance Tunes. ECD tends to be those dances published from 1650 to about 1800 and those in that style composed more recently. Each dance had its own tune, well almost.

 

However there is a whole different world of traditional English dances and tunes which are the bread and butter of English sessions, barn dances and ceilidhs. There is some common ground, for example Black Nag published by Playford in 1670 and Halfe Hannikin (Playford, 1650), are often seen at ceildihs and ECD groups will include such traditional dances as the Dorset Triumph and the Cumberland Reel (just picking two from opposite ends of the country) in their repertoire. This happens less often in the states where many of the traditional English dances are thought of as contra dances.

 

Howard Mitchell

[Lester Bailey]

The best, most comprehensive, and most reflective of current practice, of all tunebooks at the present time that I know of is The Lewes Favourites.  You can either  buy the book from here, or you can download all the tunes directly for free from here. It's not chorded, but I consider this a good thing as most books that give chords tend to produce over-elaborate arrangements that do not suit English music very well.

 

Buy the book, and learn about the joys of dwyle flonking!

 

Chris

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Couldn't agree with Chris more. The Lewes Faves is the most used ABC file on my PC. If only I could remember them all

[JimLucas]

Be a little cautious. What is known as ECD in the States only covers a part of what is being refered to here as English Dance Tunes. ECD tends to be those dances published from 1650 to about 1800 and those in that style composed more recently.

 

However there is a whole different world of traditional English dances and tunes which are the bread and butter of English sessions, barn dances and ceilidhs.

Yes. It's the ECD tunes that started this thread. Chris T. introduced sources for the more contemporary repertoire without noting the distinction, so I'm glad you brought it up, Howard.

 

Musically, they're as different as bluegrass and Irish, though just as with those two, there can be overlap. And many people are interested in both, but it's also possible to like only one of the two, and not the other.

 

...in the states ... many of the traditional English dances are thought of as contra dances.

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Which some are, though not necessarily "New England" contra dances. What I remember from my early dancing days in the US was a double splitting.

... There were "English" dance nights and "American" dance nights, with only occasional dances that would mix the two.

... But the English dances were sometimes only Playford, sometimes the more modern or "rowdier" sort (reels, rants, and other such things), and less often a mixture. The music for the Playford dances was generally provided by violin and piano, with maybe a few others of us who would play along on "gentle" instruments (whistle, flute, recorder, English concertina, classical guitar, maybe even oboe or cello). Only for the other dances would you be likely to find melodeon or a string band lineup.

... The American dances were generally either "contras" (with an occasional New England square thrown in) or "squares" (Southern Appalachian or "western", but not "Western" with the fancy costumes). There were mixed dances, but in the beginning they were the exception, rather than the rule.

... Later on, with more young bands and dance venues that were independent of the Country Dance and Song Society, there began to be more mixing of the different types.

 

That's what I remember from the NYC area. In other areas it may have been different. And with the revival of contra dancing in New England and its spread to other areas, all-contra dances (or contra evenings with only a couple of squares) became common. ECD dances are less common and are generally run by separate (though sometimes overlapping) groups, and I think the groups in some areas may do only Playford-style dances, while others will mix in things like Morpeth Rant, Nottingham Swing, and the Cumberland Square, and still others include dances by Pat Shaw, Coin Hume, and other contemporaries.