Quiz: Dances & Tunes

Subject: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 05:53 AM

Dances & Tunes Quiz!

Here's a set of dances (and tunes of the same name) to cheer you up! They're all in one or another edition of Playford, so you'll find them on this page.    Answers, as usual, on the forum.

1 - Ship of the fens, she's an ecclesiastical treasure.
2 - Military agent who sends his clients over the hills and far away.
3 - Small fowl are entrapped, flying a yard above the ground in numbers.
4 - Watchmen, turned musicians, are employed by city corporations.
5 - Collecting legumes, by tradition a summertime activity.
6 - Published in 1701, it suggests that the curly-headed Rev. was famous long before Burns.
7 - Doubtless both Shakespeare and the Mellstock choir would love to lie with me.
8 - Women might find this useful, though it sounds more like a public toilet.
9 - Henry VIII's Hertfordshire mansion where Mary taught Elizabeth to gamble.
10 - An ale house where each has his own, with a handle, "to drink sing and spout".
11 - The tune, reputedly by Henry Purcell, that "rhymed James out of three kingdoms".
12 - The original Irish washerwoman, found early with a May bush.
13 - Fantastic for literacy, perhaps, but what would we do for drink?
14 - Ancient woodland, a few miles from St Paul's via Liverpool Street.
15 - English game, perhaps the precursor of Croquet, gave its name to a London street.
16 - Did Cromwell really dance six to the eight?
17 - You could say it's a bit of a pansy, really.
18 - Richard's whim sounds faintly obscene, though it could just be unpleasant.
19 - Diabolical sterilisation - the baker's knife was handy, but his wife saved his bacon.
20 - Purcell's "hornpipe" could be a window, or a door ...

It's hard to measure this one, but perhaps it should be quicker than the last Alphabetic Quiz (5 hours) as you've got a limited number of titles to choose from. As usual, collaboration is strongly encouraged and comments about answers (or anything else) are very welcome.

Good luck.
Ian

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Snuffy
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 09:15 AM

A quick effort, without looking anything up, so they may not even be Playford tunes:

1. Ely Cathedral
2. Recruiting Sergeant
5. Gathering Peascods
9. Nonsuch
11. Lilliburlero
16. Oliver's Jig
18. Dick's Maggot

Quite a few flyers in there, but the scatter-gun approach may work

WassaiL! V

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Jeri
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 09:54 AM

14. Epping Forest. Keep in mind I have very primitive knowledge of English geography. This desperate guess might be hilarious.

Will try to get more later, unless someone else figures them all out.

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Schantieman
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 09:59 AM

7 - Fancy Day?

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 10:48 AM

How about -

1 - Ely Minster
2 - Recruiting Officer
3 - The Catching of Quails
4 - The Waites
5 - Gathering Peascods
6 - Daniel Cowper
8 - Lady's Conveniency
9 - Hatfield House
10 - The Mug House
14 - Dunham Oaks
16 - Oliver's Jig
18 - Dick's Maggot
19 - Gelding of the Devil

Mitch

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: GUEST,Moleskin Joe
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 10:56 AM

No.6 Dainty Davy ?

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 11:07 AM

Brief update (there aren't too many people on Mudcat today, so the going is slow.

1, 2 and 16 aren't really quite there, 7 and 9 are plain wrong so far ... 5, 11, 14 and 18 are 100% though. Here's some notes for them.

5. Gathering Peascods (1651) - Peascods are peapods, but also - in Elizabethan fashion - a mans doublet (or armour) with a very prominent and padded central front seam. "Peascod time" is summer.

11 - Lilli Burlero (1690) - Here ... "Said to have been the words of distinction used by the Irish Papists in their massacres of the Protestants in 1641. A song with the refrain of "Lilli-burlero, bullen-a-la!" was written by Lord Wharton, which had a more powerful effect than the philippics of either Demosthenes or Cicero, and contributed not a little to the great revolution of 1688. Lord Wharton (1640-1715), wrote a set of satirical verses titled Lillibolero regarding the Irish problems and set them to a melody arranged by Henry Purcell in 1678. Purcell's arrangement was based on an older tune under the name Quickstep which appeared in Robert Carr's Delightful Companion (1686). It became popular immediately. After the Stuarts were deposed, Lord Wharton, a strong supporter of William III, boasted that he had "rhymed James out of three kingdoms" with his tune."

14 - Epping Forest (1670) - Epping Forest is an ancient woodland (circa 8000BC) of nearly 6,000 acres and contains areas of grassland, heath, rivers, bogs and ponds. Embankments of two Iron Age camps can be found hidden in the woodland. In Tudor times Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth 1 hunted in the Forest. In 1543 Henry commissioned a building, known as Great Standing, from which to view the chase at Chingford. The building was renovated in 1589 for Queen Elizabeth 1 and can still be seen today in Chingford. Epping Forest lies to the North East of London. The total length is approximately 12 miles and it is only about 10 miles or so from St Paul's. It is the largest public open space in the vicinity of London and Essex - in fact it is said to be the largest open space near any capital city in the world that has never been ploughed or cultivated.

18 - Dick's Maggot (1703) - The use of "maggot" in the name of musical pieces started in the 17th century. The rather unlikely coupling of the name for a grub with a light tune meant for dancing is a little less bizarre when we note that, starting in the early 17th Century, "maggot" was used figuratively to mean "a fanciful whim or silly idea." The logic behind this sense of "maggot" was that strange ideas were jokingly said to be the result of having maggots cavorting in one's cranium, the 17th century equivalent of "bats in the belfry." Thus, a whimsical or "unserious" bit of music was jocularly christened "Dick's Maggot" or whatever.

:-)

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 11:08 AM

Mitch and Joe ... missed your posts ... notes shortly. :-)

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 11:32 AM

Had another thought -

16 - Old Noll's Jig

Mitch

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 11:35 AM

More notes

1 - Ely Minster (1698) - Dominating the flat countryside, "the ship of the Fens" is a splendid, and strikingly different, English cathedral. Ely began life as a Anglian monastery for nuns and monks until the Danish invasion in 869 left it completely destroyed. Some 100 years later, the site was reconsecrated as a Benedictine monastery, but it wasn't until late in the 11th century that building work began on the present church, and in 1109 Ely was given cathedral status. This great feat of Norman architecture is epitomised in the 248ft long nave of the church, which has remained largely unaltered over the centuries.

2 - Recruiting Officer (1710) - The tune is perhaps better known as "Over The Hills And Far Away" and was also published in Thomas D'Urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy (Originally in 1706). It first appeared in "The Recruiting Officer", a comedy by George Farquhar. "The Recruiting Officer" was an immediate hit when it opened at Drury Lane in 1706 and became the most frequently performed play of the 18th century.

3 - Catching of Quails (1675) - This dance is mentioned by name in a play called "Misogonus" (1560) by Thomas Rychardes, and therefore appears to be at least 100 years older than Playford. In NUMBERS XI ... "v31 Suddenly the LORD sent a wind that brought quails from the sea, flying three feet above the ground. They settled on the camp and all around it for miles and miles in every direction. v32 So all that day, all night, and all the next day, the people worked catching quails; no one gathered less than fifty bushels. They spread them out to dry all around the camp."

4 - The Waits (1657)
From The York Waits ... Before they turned to music full time the waits had been night watchmen and, although their guard duties diminished, they continued to keepe the night watches in the weeks leading up to Christmas, playing at various points to mark the hours and wake the citizens.

6 - Dainty Davy (1701)
Spaw's favourite character. Apparently, "it is believed that this was originally danced with six dancers by Morris teams, very long ago".

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 11:39 AM

7 - Under the Greenwood Tree

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 12:13 PM

Some more notes

7 - Under the Green-wood Tree (1679)
Song text by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), from As You Like It, Act II, Scene v.
"Under the Greenwood Tree, or, The Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School" by Thomas Hardy

8 - Ladies Conveniency (1709)
"Conveniency" is a variant form of "Convenience". It appears in Shakespeare only in The Merchant of Venice and Othello and has some unusual context restrictions. In both scenes it collocates in the same line with 'all' and is spoken by an impatient man, who makes a plea to get on with things. In the "Dictionary of Theiving Slang" (1737) CONVENIENCY has the meaning of "a Wife; also a Mistress". The word "Convenience" in modern English parlance also means a public toilet.

10 - The Mug House (1686)
E. Cobham Brewer's "Dictionary of Phrase and Fable" (1898) says "An ale-house was so called in the eighteenth century. Some hundred persons assembled in a large tap-room to drink, sing, and spout. One of the number was made chairman. Ale was served to the guests in their own mugs, and the place where the mug was to stand was chalked on the table." There are still a number of pubs with the name throughout England.

None of the answers to 9 are right, yet!

:-)

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Snuffy
Date: 05 Dec 02 - 06:50 PM

13 If all the world were paper

And some guesses:
9 Aply House or Millfield?
15 Pickadilla?
16 Old Mole?

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 06 Dec 02 - 05:02 AM

Here's an update on the current status. The Mudcat was really quiet yesterday, so there are still 5 questions left (and none of Snuffy's guesses worked this time).

Here it is

1 - Ely Minster (1698) - well done Snuffy/Mitch
2 - Recruiting Officer (1710) - ditto
3 - Catching of Quails (1675) - Mitch
4 - The Waits (1657) - ditto
5. Gathering Peascods (1651) - Snuufy
6 - Dainty Davy (1701) - Moleskin Joe
7 - Under the Green-wood Tree (1679) - Mitch
8 - Ladies Conveniency (1709) - ditto
9 - ???
10 - The Mug House (1686) - ditto
11 - Lilli Burlero (1690) - Snuffy
12 - ???
13 - If all the World were Paper (1651) - ditto
14 - Epping Forest (1670) - Jeri

15 - ???
16 - Old Noll's Jigg (1703) - Mitch
17 - ???
18 - Dick's Maggot (1703) - Snuffy
19 - Gelding of the Devil (1657) - Mitch
20 - ???

BTW the song for "The Gelding of The Devil" is in DT.

:-)

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 06 Dec 02 - 06:26 AM

15 - Pell Mell or Pall Mall
9 - sure it isn't Hatfield House? I used to play there in the 1970s.

Mitch

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 06 Dec 02 - 06:48 AM

Mitch

Thanks for that.

15 - Pell-Mell (1695)
A game formerly common in England, in which a wooden ball was driven with a mallet through an elevated hoop or ring of iron. The name was also given to the mallet used, to the place where the game was played, and to the street, in London, still called Pall Mall. The word may have been derive from pelle {a shovel} + m[^e]ler {to mix}, as when different kinds of grain are heaped up and mixed with a shovel. See {Pell} shovel, {Medley}.]

I am absolutely certain that it ain't Hatfield House. I have also danced there (in fact we were banned!). Hatfield House, as it is now, was built in 1611. This one is still there (what's left of it).

:-)

Subject: ADD: If All The World Were Paper
From: IanC
Date: 06 Dec 02 - 08:50 AM

More notes:

13 - If all the World were Paper (1651)

IF ALL THE WORLD WERE PAPER
from "Wit's Recreations" (anon, 1640 but probably written earlier)

If all the world were paper,
And all the sea were ink,
And all the trees were bread and cheese,
What would we do for drink?

If all the world were sand-o!
Oh, then what should we lack-o!
If, as they say, there were no clay,
How should be take tobacco?

If all our vessels ran-a
If none had but a crack-,
If Spanish apes ate all the grapes,
How should we do for sack?

If friars had no bald pates
No nuns no dark cloisters,
If all the seas were beans and peas,
What should we do for oysters?

If there had been no projects,
Nor none that did great wrongs;
If fiddlers shall turn Players all,
How should we do for songs?

If all things were eternal,
And nothing their end bringing,
If this should be, then how should we
Here make an end of singing?

16 - Old Noll's Jigg (1703)
Old Noll. Oliver Cromwell was so called by the Royalists. Noll is a familiar contraction of Oliver - i.e. Ol' with an initial liquid. There is some good inforlation about Olver Cromwell here. "History hasn't been kind to Oliver Cromwell. He was survived by enemies who decided to rewrite his life to avoid confronting their own shortcomings. At the very least, Oliver deserves a touch of the truth ...". In fact, Cromwell was a very considerable reformer. He thought that harsh penalties were not necessary to the enforcement of the law and believed that the death penalty should be restricted to murder, treason and rebellion. He readmitted Jews to England, reestablished a centralized treasury, improved debtors' prisons, reorganized the post office, held elections in Scotland and Ireland so they had representation in Parliament. He was particularly upset that Parliament failed to understand the need for liberty of conscience, even for Catholics.

19 - Gelding of the Devil (1657)
The Gelding of The Devil is in "Pills To Purge Melancholy" as "Now listen a while, and I will tell"

Anyone willing to have a go at the last 4? No. 17's a doddle and I'm surprised no-one seems to know 12. Where's Wolfgandg?

9 - Henry VIII's Hertfordshire mansion where Mary taught Elizabeth to gamble.
12 - The original Irish washerwoman, found early with a May bush.
17 - You could say it's a bit of a pansy, really.
20 - Purcell's "hornpipe" could be a window, or a door ...

:--------------------(

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 09 Dec 02 - 05:06 AM

9 - Hunsdon House. "The house was largely used as a residence for King Henry's three children. Legend says that Princess Mary here taught her young sister, Elizabeth, to play cards."

20 - Hole in the Wall

Mitch

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 09 Dec 02 - 07:10 AM

12 - I can only think that this might be the Irish Lady or Aniseed-Water-Robin. I guess "Aniseed-Water-Robin" sounds a bit like "Irish Washerwoman".

and finally -

17 - Heart's Ease

Mitch

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: greg stephens
Date: 09 Dec 02 - 07:22 AM

is 12 the Country Courtship? Dont know if its in the Dancing Master, but I think it's the original of the irish Washerwoman.

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 09 Dec 02 - 11:29 AM

Notes

9 - Hunsdon House (1657)
From here:
Henry VIII's Great Tudor House - Sir William Oldhall built the original house in 1447 in the form of a tower which would have looked something like Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire, being constructed of brick. The barrel vaulted cellar still exists as do buttresses and some masonry. Edward IV bought the property around 1471 and granted it to Thomas Howard when he was made Duke of Norfolk. His son reduced the height of the tower around 1524, having considered it unsafe at the time. Henry VIII possessed the house from about 1525 and carried out a programme of building through to 1534. It was then a great Tudor house of palatial proportions, having royal apartments and a great gallery, and was a very early example of a pre-Elizabethan E-plan mansion. It had a moat, which was filled in towards the end of the 18th century, and a gatehouse and summerhouse which still exist. King Henry was a frequent visitor. He liked to eat in private in Oldhall's tower. However, the house was largely used as a residence for the King's three children. Prince Edward spent much of his youth at Hunsdon, notably throughout the year 1546 when his portrait was painted there with the house in the background. Legend says that Princess Mary here taught her young sister, Elizabeth, to play cards.

The dance is older than Playford ... here is some further information ...
"Though the dance appears first in the 3rd version of Playford, an earlier version exists in the Lansdowne manuscript 1115 (a lawyer's memorandum book from 1648). This has been transcribed and discussed in James Cunningham (1965) 'Dancing in the Inns of Court'."

17 - Hearts-Ease (1690)
The Heartsease, or Wild Pansy, very different in habit from any other kind of Viola, is abundantly met with almost throughout Britain. Though found on hedgebanks and waste ground, it seems in an especial degree a weed of cultivation, found most freely in cornfields and garden ground. It blossoms almost throughout the entire floral season, expanding its attractive little flowers in the early days of summer and keeping up a succession of blossom until late in autumn.

20 - Hole in the Wall (1698)
"Hole in the Wall" was not published as a Playford dance until 1698 because the music wasn't composed until 1695. It is one of the 36 English country dance tunes discovered to have been composed by Henry Purcell which were then taken by dancing masters to write dances to. Originally entitled "Hornpipe", "Hole in the Wall" is one of those truly elegant and beautiful tunes in 3/2. The Hole in The Wall is quite a common pub name.

Well done Mitch for 9, 17 and 20. Nobody's got close for 12, and I thought it was commonly known. Still, I often think the easy ones are hard and vice versa.

Do I start giving clues?

:-)

Subject: RE: Quiz: Dances & Tunes
From: IanC
Date: 10 Dec 02 - 06:54 AM

12 - Dargason (1651)
The Hawthorn Tree (from Lesley Nelson's page) (http://www.contemplator.com/folk6/hawthorn.html).
"This tune appears in The Dancing Master (1650-51) as Dargason, or Sedany. The Sedany was a country dance. The words are in Ritson's Ancient Songs under Class IV, (from Edward VI to Elizabeth) as A Mery Ballet of the Hathorne Tre, to be sung to the tune of Donkin Dargeson.
One Hundred Songs of England says Dargeson may be a reference to an "old piece played by the Children of the Revels at Blackfriars in 1606 entitled The Isle of Gulls." A couplet from The Isle of the Gulls has a reference to a place named Dargison. There was also a children's story with a dwarf named Dargison who served as a page to the hero. The tune Dargeson or Sedany was entered in the Stationers' Register on Aug. 13, 1579. For more information see Bruce Olsen's Roots of Folk, Scarce Songs 1: Hawthorn Tree. The Irish Washerwoman is a variant of this tune (it has a second part). "
(NB Gustav Holst wrote a fantasia on The Dargasson).