That's an obscure one Scotty road Did you get it from Here?

Thats were it came from pete, as far as I know its the only one on the net. I did this one for someone on another forum who is deeply interested in obscure tunes, I am not even sure it sounds like it was meant to because there is no where I can hear the tune, and I am not the greatest reader, didnt really practice this one, ran Through a few times then read it and recorded it in half an hour yesterday morning.

A rich vein of history.

Here's an mp3 of it as a set dance (just once around) with 32 bars. Which i think is common in set dances?

Brilliant pete thanks for that, I am fairly made up to be honest, I got it nearly bang on. No idea how you got the MP3.

I think when he wrote it for his play, it kept coming in at various times throughout the play as a background. Not sure if he wrote it before the play and decided to use it or it was later adapted as a set dance. Now I know I have it more or less I will do a bit of work on it and polish it.

Just thought is that you playing it, if so thats fabulous playing.

not me playing, it is a midi that i made with MuseScore.

You let me down? there pete ;)

Really helpful, and thanks again for going to the trouble, much appreciated

i have been playing it, but i firtle about a little more than the music suggests, hopefully without losing the melody. Thanks for giving me another excuse for delving into 18th century theatre music.

i just use MuseScore to get a midi. Then learn it by ear and add bits and bobs to suit my playing. i think you just about got it bang on also.

Here's the MuseScore version

Interesting little tune and collection. I've tried it and its pretty simple, except I have trouble bowing the slurs as written (which are absent from your Musescore version, Pete). As far as structure, if the double bars are repeats, as shown in the transcription, it seems to be 48 bars long, once through:
1st part - 4 bars x 2 = 8
2nd part - 8 bars x 2 = 16
3rd part - 12 bars x 2 = 24
Total = 48 bars
Its often claimed that American fiddle music has roots in the Old World of great antiquity, but looking through that collection you can see how few of those tunes are played here today. Same I think with Scottish collections. Maybe more from Ireland, but I don't know if there are Irish collections from that period.

I was thinking about it, he probably wrote it as a set dance then decided to use it in the play, when I visited the hall on monday, the owner told me that he was a dancing master as well as all the other things he did, so its probable that he did write it as a dance. Really wish I had photographed his fiddle, it looks a beautiful instrument and is in fine condition still, especially considering its age which must be around 300 years or so. Its a lion headed one, would have loved to give it a go. They had another fiddle there as well which was made by lord hartington and given as a gift to the owner of the hall

Doug i don't think the double lines are repeats, i think they are "strains" i just made em fit 32 bars for a longways set dance with 32 bars (apparently most common?). Suppose you could make em fit a set dance with more or less measures if you wanted.

Pete, did you look at the modern transcription of the tune at the site you first linked? I can't always find it, but its there. Anyway, they treat the double bars as repeats, using conventional modern notation with the double dots. I didn't look at the dance instruction, and probably wouldn't understand it anyway, but it might fit the longer length.
PS - With or without the repeats, that tune has some odd phrasing! I seems to me that "once around" without any repeats would be only 24 bars, not 32. You'd need to find another 8 measures somehow.

Scotty and Pete: Here's the link to the modern transcription, if you haven't already seen it:
efdss.org/vwml-digitised-resou...=3753/p83

Doug thats a great link, especially so because there is a tune right near the top which I had been looking for, Cotillon. Really good list there and good to be able to hear the tunes because I am not a great reader, will keep me busy,thanks for that link.

Thanks Doug!
Didn't see they had modern transcriptions, that makes thing easier.

There are 48 bar set dances also apparently

Scotty and Pete (et.al.) -

WOW, what a great collection of tunes you have introduced me to! I like these old, 18th century (redundant, I know) tune collections, and there are a lot of them on line. At fiddle camp last summer, I was introduced to the triple hornpipe, and there are a few of them in this collection. Lots of other interesting tunes, too. This entire collection is available as an ABC file here:
trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/book/
Scroll to the bottom and click on "the Daniel Wright collections" link. The downloadable file is "CCCCD.abc".
You can select and copy out the ABC text for any particular tune, plug it in to Michael Eskin's ABC tools site, and edit it in real time. You can then download PDF printable files and MP3 audio files from the same site. The ABC's also contain the text as it appears in the original printing that appears in facsimile on the EFDSS site.
What a great resource, and it appears that the EFDSS have several other digitised collections on their site.

Thanks! ~~Ripley

Thanks for highlighting the Hurlothrumbo tune and dance instructions from Wrights collection. It's available online through the Vaughan Williams Library at the EFDSS efdss.org/vwml along with loads of other old English tunes. This is one my ceilidh band 'Maggoty' just has to do and don't know why we haven't picked up on it earlier! Maybe we can revive the dance as well. We are based in and around Gawsworth in Cheshire where Samuel Maggoty Johnson (1691 - 1773) lived and is now buried in 'Maggoty Wood'. We play for ceilidhs in Cheshire and Manchester. I play melodeon and we have two fiddles, guitar, percussion and wind (recorder, rauschpfeife, crumhorns, various bagpipes etc).

Maggoty, I live just down the road really in Merseyside, red vee place you may have heard of.

I love Gawsworth hall and looked this tune up last time I had been there a few months back, went to have a look at his fiddle again as I hadnt been there for about 10 years, his fiddle looks an amazing instrument, obviously very old, said to my missus it may be worth nearly as much as the hall, do you have any info on it, the fiddle that is?, do you ever do any gigs around liverpool area?

When I was there a couple months back they were hosting a taylor swift tribute concert at the hall, kiddywinkies were all very excited, when I turned up they asked if I was there for the concert lol, never been to see his grave in the wood, must admit never got round to it.

Hi, Happy to ask the owners about the fiddle next time I see them. Gawsworth Hall has had a number of owners and residents since Maggoty Johnson was there so it's good the fiddle has survived.  Here's a link to our Facebook page which includes a couple of photos of Maggoty ceilidh band by Maggoty's grave in Maggoty Wood on Maggoty Lane. Samuel Maggoty Johnson, fiddler, dancing master, playwright and fool is still making his mark in Gawsworth.  He even appears on our village sign.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100038379746577

Just took a look at your page, you all look a fine bunch of reprobates lol. Never noticed the village sign I will have to look out for that next time I visit there.

The girls look like they are having a great time dancing, look forward to any info you get on the fiddle.

Just had a listen to you on you tube, was from a few years back, excellent stuff.