The Dancing Master

In 1651 the music publisher John Playford (1623-1686) published a collection of English tunes together with country dancing instructions under the title The Dancing Master. The book ran to many editions but most of the tunes in the early editions had been around for years, many traceable as far back as the 16th century. In this arrangement I have selected two tunes from the first edition, Cuckolds all a row and Newcastle, and ended with Portsmouth from the 11th edition of 1701. Portsmouth is similar to a hornpipe melody and is sometimes known as the Portsmouth Hornpipe. It was included in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Sea Songs and was a hit in 1976 for Mike Oldfield.

While retaining the verve and spirit of country dancing this piece breathes some new life into these old tunes.