Here is our new tune from 20th May, Peace and Plenty. It’s a tune from the 1718 edition of the Playford collection, I learned this from fantastic fiddle player Ben Potton, it is a little different than in that early manuscript, but only in the connecting/passing notes. It’s related to the Old Molly Oxford/Old Tom of Oxford Morris tune and we will potentially pair it with Old Meddon.
Here is the PDF:
An English Morris tune for May Day, Old Meddon of Fawsley from the Longborough (Gloucestershire) tradition. I’ve not found any videos of this being danced, not sure why because it’s a fantastic tune! I think it’s related to Idbury Hill, given the similarities in the B part, but it definitely stands alone as a great tune. I found it in Chris Bartram’s English Fiddle book, which I would highly recommend.
Here’s Broad Hoops, as tune from Lancashire that appears in the John Winder collection of 1835-41. Anyone interested in this, or indeed any other folk tune collections from England should check out the village-music-project.org.uk
Here is Sawney Dear, a country dance tune from Lancashire (tune, riff and rhythm).
Here are the dots, with a PDF download underneath:
We took our recent tunes, The Great North Run and Ger the Rigger, and tried swinging the rhythm to give them more of a hornpipe feel. I’ve come across both tunes played this way, so it really is a case of two for the price of one!
The Great North Run by Robert Whitehead, a fabulous tune to potentially go with Ger the Rigger.
A cheerful tune to start our term, Irish polka Ger the Rigger. This tune appears in the 1976 book Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol. 2. Here are the basic dots, with an additional ornamented/varied version:
Here is the tune and harmony:
Here’s a slow and a faster version, with the riff at the end:
Here is the riff we tried (this will be developed next week!):
Finally here’s a fantastic version of the tune, it has more of a swing to it and a really lovely groove.
Mominette by Maxou Heintzen might sound a little familiar if you know the tune The Plane Tree, which is a jigged version of this same tune that is attributed to whistle player and piper Undine Hornby. It is a potential mate for Will’s Way, with other contenders including Harlequin Air – as and when we decide (depending on whether it’s a simple arrangement for dancing to or a complex arrangement for concerts), we will add some alternative chords. Here is a fabulous recording of the tune by Blowzabella.
New Ealing Sessions 