performed by the Folger Consort.
key: D aeolian
mode: D E F G A Bb C
melody: S l t d r m
form: AABB
meter: duple
English function names: tonic subtonic
Tagg (modified): home counterpoise (away)
Riemann: t dP
Scale degrees: i VII
Chords: Dm C
Dm
|:/ / |/ / |/ / |/ / :|
C Dm C Dm
|:/ / |/ / |/ / |/ / :|
Is it folk? Is it classical? We do not know who composed it, so there's a point for the folk side. It was published by John Playford in 1651, there's a point for the classical side. It is probably named after Henry VIII's hunting lodge, which may be another point for the classical side, as classical music tends to be written for the aristocracy or the church (and certainly by this point in history, we can ask what is the difference?). I find an examples like this — much like Christmas songs — demonstrate how much classical and folk are less separate than we think. It's true that the aristocracy has access to the culture of the masses as it chooses, and the reverse is not necessarily so. But it's precisely this dynamic that intertwines the two cultural forces — the aristocracy and the church need some participatory music practices for singing and dancing, and they get it from the practices of the masses, consciously or not. My guess is that mothers from all classes are singing the same lullabies to their babies, and that's one of the primary sources of all music making. But I digress. The point is, yes, it's folk, yes it's classical. Yes, it doesn't matter in the long run. Yes, the fluidity of musical practices is interesting.
This is actually a good tune for kids. It's not too hard and the ones who pick it up quickly can move on to ornamentation. One wonders if this was originally heterophonically performed over a drone. I suppose you could wonder that about a lot of old European music, and there are some drone examples below. I'll be the first to admit I am drawn to the recordings of Historically Informed Performance practitioners, though I know it's good to have a healthy skepticism about that endeavor.[https://open.substack.com/pub/francescoturrisi/p/what-is-early-music] To each their own. It's a fairly indestructable tune.
More information: https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Nonesuch_(1) https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Dancing_Master_(Playford,_John)
other recordings:
Pictus, Tribe, self-released. C aeolian. Interestingly, the drone here is the subtonic.
Wolgemut, Shauspiluden II, self-released. D aeolian.
The Unpronounceable Irish Band, If All the World Were Playford, Uib. D aeolian/E aeolian.
Tony Elman, Shakin' Down the Acorns, Acorn Music. E aeolian.
Jessie Modic, Fiddletales, self-released. B aeolian. With lyrics!