Introduction
This paper offers an interpretation of the dance Newcastle which was published in John Playford’s English Dancing Master in 1651. The paper is based on the workshop that I gave in March 2001 at the Dolmetsch Common Ground 3 conference: John Playford and The English Dancing Master 1651. Most often, recreations of dances published in the Playford books are performed with little or no explanation as to why the choreography is as it is or differs from other choreographies for that dance. Alternatively, any explanation is confined to the limited scope of a workshop. This paper is an attempt to depart from this practice by explaining the reasoning behind the interpretation.
Cecil Sharp, noted musicologist and founder of the English
Folk Dance Society published his interpretation of
More recent interpretations exist although the only published version is “Newcastle Revisited” by Michael Barraclough, published as a broadsheet in 1979.
In 1985 Tom Cook published “Newcastle II” based on
instructions for a dance called
“Inspection showed at once that it could not be other than a variant of the Playford dance”
Newcastle II seems to have been deliberately distinguished from Sharp’s interpretations in order to make it acceptable to the contemporary English folk dance audience.
This paper argues for a choreography based on the premise that printed and manuscript versions ARE essentially the same dance with the choreography described differently by different observers. If this is correct it provides those who require “authentic” interpretations with a choreography that is significantly more accurate than that used today (based on Cecil Sharp).
Until relatively recently (and in some places still) the English folk dance world has considered it to be heresy to question or change Cecil Sharp’s interpretations. Even someone as famous and well-loved as Pat Shaw had little success in introducing alternatives[3].
However:
Although most folk dancers believe that the dance they are
doing when they do “
Interpretation issues
Interpretation of seventeenth and eighteenth century dance texts is beset with problems. In his introduction to Book 6 of the Country Dance Book, Cecil Sharp wrote at length about the problems faced in interpreting dances which had not been performed in living memory[9].
“Where we may have, and no doubt have failed, in greater or less degree, is in our interpretation of the movements and figures. The loose, unscientific, happy-go-lucky way in which the descriptions of the dances are often worded; the frequent use of undefined technical terms and expressions that became obsolete during the period covered by the Playford volumes; the typographical errors which disfigure so many pages – the inaccurate punctuation, the omission of important words, sometimes whole sentences – these make a really accurate, scientifically exact, transcription humanly unattainable.”
For most of the period when country dances were being published, grammar was extremely fluid. The concept of grammar in English did not take hold until the nineteenth century. Similarly, dictionaries existed in the seventeenth century, but their principal raison d’etre was to supply meanings and not spellings. It can therefore be difficult to discern what was actually meant.
Typical problems faced include:
As with other historical disciplines, it is important to be well read in contemporary material generally. The following statement which appeared in a national newspaper in the early 1980s illustrates this well.
“If well endowed young ladies make a habit of invading the pitch
at Twickenham we shall need a new competition – the Oh!
To understand and appreciate this statement you need to know:
Getting inside the author’s head is also crucial. In this example from a letter to the Times in 1981 the originator clearly didn’t see an alternative interpretation.
“Sir, How threatening official language can appear! A Spanish member of our domestic staff was recently expressing what seemed to me to be inordinate anxiety about completing her census form. Eventually the reason became clear. She had interpreted ‘form for making an individual return’ as ‘form for making an individual return to her own country’.”
In this account from the Daily Telegraph Diary the recipient did not understand something that the originator considers quite obvious.
According to the parish magazine at Ashtead,
Perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of alternative
sources to shed light on the situation – just imagine how useful a video or a time
machine would be. Even when the dance appears in many editions of the
same publication (nine[15]
in the case of
True insight comes from being able to compare more than one source and preferably where the means of description differ from what was obviously the conventional dancing masters’ shorthand – “sides all”, “hands across”, “go the figure” and so on. In practice, there are four main types of alternative sources known to us at present.
First, there are a variety of manuscript books in libraries and museums where dances are written out longhand by an amateur, often intermingled between (say) a recipe from an aunt for their favourite gingerbread and legal jottings about a case they had just won or lost in court. This paper is only possible because of the availability of such a source[16].
The second alternative type of source comes from
Then there are books by Feuillet,
published in
Lorin seemingly was trying to
describe dances he had seen in
The remaining two types of source are much less exciting. Ladies’ pocket books (a sort of hard-back miniature Women’s Own) contained dance instructions, usually without tunes and usually almost word-for-word the same as the published books of dances. There are also books of dances from rival publishers (ie not from the Playford stable) but these more often than not suffer from the problems already described or are merely plagiarised from someone else’s book. “New” dances were often straight copies of earlier dance texts set to a new tune (sometimes of a completely different length) and given a new title. A good example of this is Meillionen[18]. This is actually Row Well Ye Mariners published in 1651 by John Playford[19] with identical instructions but set to a tune of a different length and rhythm. Sadly, this has been interpreted entirely erroneously and published as a traditional Welsh dance by the Welsh Folk Dance Society.
The interpretation – First Figure reasoning
For many years I have shown a slide when doing
I have already explained that Cecil Sharp changed his mind
over his interpretation of
Let us begin by looking at the structure of the dance.
The dance is what would be called in the
|
Standard Figure 1: Up a double and back |
|
Chorus 1 |
|
Standard Figure 2: Siding |
|
Chorus 2 |
|
Standard Figure 3: Arming |
|
Chorus 3 |
Choruses may be different, as in
The nature of the “Standard Figures” depends on the length of the music. Almost invariably they will be repeated since the music will repeat. Usually they are not changed but very occasionally the first figure goes up and down, or in and out, or (if circular) round and back.
The dance is described in both the printed and manuscript versions as a “round” dance for 4 couples but it is not apparent what the implication of being round is, nor, how round dances for 4 couples differ from square dances for 4 couples. Thirteen dances[20] in the 1st edition of the Dancing Master are described as rounds. Six use going “round” and seven use “meet” for their first Figure. There is also no pattern as between “rounds for as many as will” and “whole set rounds”
|
|
Go round |
Meet |
|
For six |
2 |
0 |
|
For eight |
1 |
5 |
|
For as many as will |
3 |
2 |
The manuscript supports the contention that for circular dances, “meet and back a double, that again” and “slip/circle left and back” are alternatives and I consider that this difference is not enough to claim that the dances are different.
This formulation (that is doubles, siding or arming) works where the A music is 4 bars in length but often it will be 8 bars, or occasionally 6 bars. In these cases the dance composer has had to decide what to do with the extra music. The answer is to add a “filler”. For 6-bar A musics the filler is usually “turn single” and for 8-bar A musics the filler is “set and turn single”. The possible configurations are:
|
|
1st A music |
2nd A music |
||
|
4 bar A music |
Standard figure |
|
Standard figure |
|
|
6 bar A music |
Standard figure |
Filler |
Standard figure |
Filler |
|
8 bar A music |
Standard figure |
Filler |
Standard figure |
Filler |
|
8 bar A music |
Standard figure |
Standard figure |
Filler |
Filler |
The description for Figure 1 in the various sources of
|
Add MSS 41996F |
Playford 1st edition |
Playford 7th edition |
|
Take hands all & goe halfe round then set & turn all round single, then take hands all again & goe backe into your places all holding hands together, then set again, & turne all round single againe, |
Meet all, back againe, fet to your owne, and to the next . That againe : |
Meet all, back again, fet to your own, and to the next . That again : |
Cecil Sharp’s interpretation of the First Standard Figure as: Meet a double and back, set to your partner and set to your neighbour with all that repeated does not accord with the configurations set out above. What I believe Sharp has done is an example of “literal translation”. He has given effect to the words without understanding that he is most likely violating the principles of how to construct a dance. I suggest that a better interpretation is “Meet a double and back, set and turn single to your partner, meet a double and back, set and turn single to your neighbour”. This is justified by:
I have adopted the starting position of women on the men’s left as portrayed in Playford (although there is no guarantee that Playford was right). However, the manuscript suggests that this is correct because at the end of the first B music “each woaman meets his man, --- ye woemen all standing on ye right side of their men” which can only be achieved if they start on the left side.
The interpretation – First Chorus reasoning
The first chorus is a sequence of turns and stars. The following table summarises who says what and when
|
|
|
Arming/Turning |
Stars |
|
Cecil Sharp (1911) |
B1 B2 |
Right Right |
Men left Women left |
|
Cecil Sharp (1922) |
B1 B2 |
Right Left |
Men left Women right |
|
Playford (1651-1690) |
B1 B2 |
Right Again |
Men left Women left |
|
Manuscript (mid-C17) |
B1 B2 |
Right Left |
Men right Women right |
|
Michael Barraclough (1979) |
B1 B2 |
Right Right |
Men left Women left |
My preference is to stay with my 1979 interpretation which is the same as Sharp’s original interpretation and what Playford appears to state. This differs from Sharp’s 1922 interpretation which he justifies as follows[21]
“The second figure (B music) of the first Part of Newcastle affords another illustration of a like confusion … The second half of this figure was intended no doubt to be complementary to and symmetrical with the first; but it is not so noted. The last sentence should of course read: Armes againe with your own by the left, and the We right hands in …”
Sharp’s change of mind is understandable and replaces flow with reverse symmetry as the more important principle. The manuscript even appears to support it with the turns being given as right and left. However, the manuscript sequence of right turn, star right, left turn, star right is most unlikely given its asymmetric nature. I suspect that in the manuscript, the “men star right” is a noting down error (just like the reference to “his men” above) and that this should be men star left. This leaves us with a straight decision between
|
|
|
Arming/Turning |
Stars |
|
Cecil Sharp (1911) Playford (1651-1690) |
B1 B2 |
Right Right |
Men left Women left |
|
Cecil Sharp (1922) Manuscript (mid-C17) |
B1 B2 |
Right Left |
Men left Women right |
There is also another aspect of the chorus which needs interpretation. The manuscript instruction is to go “half” way round, not all the way round as Cecil Sharp requires and Playford appears to suggest. Going only half way round makes great sense because:
Given the fact that the dancers are only going half way round the set and end up improper[22] with respect to their starting position it is now possible to decide between the right/left/right/left and right/left/left right sequences above. The former is entirely symmetrical but the latter has a ¾ turn on the first turn and a 1¼ turn on the second turn. This seems much less likely so the sequence from the Playford books for the turns and starts is preferred but the stars are only half way round as per the manuscript. The wonderful resulting flow adds credence to the solution.
The interpretation – Second Figure reasoning
Siding is of course “into line” siding as opposed to the “banana” siding introduced by Cecil Sharp in 1911[23]. Devotees of Sharp’s original interpretation of siding should be aware that by 1922, Sharp had already convinced himself that his original interpretation was wrong. In the Introduction to the 6th Book of the Country Dance Book he states
“… the Side would then be identical with the Morris figure of Half-hands, or Half-gip. And this, I suspect, may prove to be the correct interpretation”.
In fact, not long before his death, he lets the cat out of
the bag in a lecture to teachers in Aldborough in
The need for a “filler” when the A music is 8 bars long is
referred to above. Normally dancers do not actually end up anywhere
different as a result of the A music in a
“go a single to the right and honour (2 bars) then change places, passing by the left (2 bars)”.
Neither Playford nor the manuscript mention singles or honours so that is unlikely to be correct. I believe that one should adopt a starting point of assuming that what is required is not new. The first question to ask, therefore, is “is there any well known choreographic unit that takes four bars for you to change places with the person you are dancing with” and the answer is YES. The movement known as a “Hole in-the-Wall” change (which I prefer to call “paunch-to-paunch”) meets the requirements exactly, doesn’t cause us to invent something new, doesn’t cause us to do things that we aren‘t told to do, and even more importantly, seems to echo the music perfectly.
The interpretation – Second Chorus reasoning
We are immediately faced with the issue of making arches - the cut of clothing at this time makes this most improbable. I am delighted to see that there is no mention of arches in the manuscript! The second issue is one of timing. Cecil Sharp interprets Playford literally and has the (original) side couples moving during bars 5-8 after the (original) head couples have moved in bars 1-4. Tom Cook suggests that the side couples should move at the same time as the head couples (ie everybody moving during bars 1-8). My 1979 interpretation had the head couples moving during bars 1-4 and the sides during 3-8. However, I had no justification for this except for some aesthetic “gut feel”.
Closer inspection of the manuscript suggests that we are all wrong and that the figure being described is simply a “grand square” movement (as in Hunsdon House, and possibly in Kettle Drum) except that only two couples are active each time. I do not propose to argue the point closely. The clue is that “your own mate” is not your original partner (mate), it is the one you are with at the moment and this then makes your original partner the “contrary woman”! I accept that what Playford states appears to be different but in support I suspect that there was no acknowledged term for this figure and hence the difficulty in describing it.
The interpretation – Third Figure reasoning
Unusually, Cecil Sharp is inconsistent as between how he deals with “sides all and change” and “armes all and change”. In fact, it is not necessary to be inconsistent. One can do the arming and changing in exactly the same manner as the siding and changing”. The first change takes place with the current partner and the second change will be across the corners of the set. For example, the 2nd Man and 3rd Woman will be doing the paunch to paunch with each other. However, as they fall back they will be conscious of the need to take hands with the 1st Man and 2nd Woman (who are also changing with each other) to form a line of four (indicated in red below). The starting point for the 2nd Man and 3rd Woman is shown by the letters 2M and 3W below. Their finishing position is shown by the two green dots, the 2nd Man being in the centre of the line and the 3rd Woman at the end of the line.
The interpretation – Third Chorus reasoning
The description for Chorus 3 in the various sources of
British Library Add MSS 41996F: (undated) |
(English) Dancing Master: 1st edition, 1651 |
Dancing Master: 7th edition, 1686 |
|
then two men & two woamen hold hands & stand apart from ye other fowre a cross ye roome then meete all fowre & change places to ye contrary side, then fall fowre /hand in hand to one end & fowre to ye other end of ye roome & soe meete, & change places, this brings every man to his owne place as they were at first. |
Fall back from each other, foure and foure a breft to each wall, turn and change places with your opposites . Fall back from each other foure and foure along the roome, turn S. change places with your oppofite : So each falls into his place as at first. |
Fall back from each other, four and four a breft to each wall, turn and change places with your opposites . Fall back from each other four and four along the Roome, turn S. change places with your oppofite : So each falls into his place as at first. |
Cecil Sharp has the lines falling back, coming forward, everyone turning single and then changing with the person opposite to them to form lines across the head of the set, and then repeating all this.
Playford’s description has an issue in that it is not symmetrical, there being a turn single in the second half, but not in the first. The manuscript description does not mention a turn single and is symmetrical using a change places.
I have assumed that the change places is in fact another paunch-to-paunch change and that the turn single is either extraneous or an attempt to describe the first part of the paunch-to paunch change. This gives fall back, come forward, change paunch-to-paunch with the person opposite you (the original heads move in to the middle a little to help form the head lines. Then repeat with the original sides not needing to fall back much after the paunch-to-paunch change.
Concluding remarks
If you are from the “historical dance” side of the house,
you have seen my best guess as to what
Finally, I have many acknowledgements to make. First, I would like to acknowledge the pioneering work of Tom Cook. Whilst I had long been aware of the manuscript in the British Library, which is so important to my thesis this afternoon, it was Tom’s publication of the content of the manuscript and his interpretation of the contents that provided the spur to my thinking.
Next I would like to thank Tom Senior who is the leader,
together with the members of the
We must also thank Cecil Sharp, founder of the English Folk Dance Society, the forerunner of the English Folk Dance & Song Society. We all stand on his shoulders and without his pioneering work it is quite likely that we would not be here today.
I must also thank my previous employer, Motorola, for the computing facilities that have enable me to research, produce and deliver my original presentation and this paper.
Finally, it remains for me to thank the Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society Research Committee for selecting my paper to be presented
The interpretation
Either
|
A1 |
Circle left, set right and left, turn single right. |
|
A2 |
Circle right, set left and right, turn single left |
Or
|
A1 |
Into the middle and out, set right and left, turn single to partner |
|
A2 |
Into the middle and out, set right and left, turn single to neighbour |
|
B1 |
Arm right ¾ with partner, then men star left ½ way round whilst women dance clockwise ½ way round to meet partner |
|
B2 |
Arm right ¾ with partner, then women star left ½ way round whilst men dance clockwise ½ way round to meet partner |
|
A3 |
Face partner, forward a double to meet right shoulder to right shoulder and back a double (into line siding). Change with this person using two doubles (paunch-to paunch as in Hole in the Wall) ending facing next person round the set. |
|
A4 |
Repeat A3 with this person to end along side next person on the side of the square, men have moved clockwise and women anti-clockwise one place around the set. |
|
B3 |
Head couples (currently on the sides) do a grand square (leading out of the set through the other couples) |
|
B4 |
Side couples (currently on the heads) do a grand square (leading out of the set through the other couples) |
|
A5 |
Arm right once around with current partner. Change with this person using two doubles (paunch-to paunch as in Hole in the Wall) ending facing next person round the set. |
|
A6 |
Repeat A5 with this person to end along side next person taking hands in lines parallel with the side of the set, but towards the centre of the set. Side couples are in the centre of the line and head couples are at the end of the line, facing their partner in the other line. |
|
B5 |
Lines fall back a double and come forward a double. Change paunch to paunch with the person opposite you, head couples moving in towards the centre of the set slightly to take hands in lines parallel with the head of the set, but towards the centre of the set. |
|
B6 |
Lines fall back a double and come forward a double. Change paunch to paunch with the person opposite you, falling out into original place (side couples do not have to fall back much – they are already there. |
[1] The published authors are stated to be Cecil Sharp and George Butterworth. It is known, however, that Maud Karples was heavily involved in its content.
[2] The manuscript does not have an author and is undated but is attributed by the British Library to mid-seventeenth century.
[3] Beveridges Maggot is the only dance that he actually persuaded to EFDSS to change.
[4] Op cit, Vols 2, 4 & 6
[5] mainly unpublished or in the journals and summer school
workbooks of organisations such as the Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society,
[6] For example, there was considerable “bowdlerisation” to make the material suitable for a more prudish early twentieth century audience
[7] Many musicians consider it to be a “good” tune – Jeremy Barlow even states that “it is the best in the book”.
[8]
Subtitled “
[9] Cecil Sharp, Country Dance Book Vol 6, 1922, page 10
[10]
triennial meeting of old Girls,
[11] All a Mode de France, English Dancing Master 1st edn
[12] The Phenix, Dancing Master 3rd edn
[13] Michael Barraclough - Phoenix Unrushed, (broadsheet), 1979
[14]
Cecil Sharp -
[15] 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th editions
[16] British Library, Add MSS 41996F (undated)
[17] Biblioteque Nationale
[18] Walsh’s Caledonian Country Dances
[19] 1st-8th editions (1651-1690)
[20] Mage On A Cree, If All The World Were Paper, Millfield, Fine Companion, Rose Is White And Rose Is Red, Peppers Black, Chirping of the Nightingale, Newcastle, Kettle Drum, Mundesse, Jenny Pluck Pears, Gathering Peascods and Up Tailes All
[21] 6th Part of the Country Dance Book
[22] on the opposite side of their partner to normal