Playford Dances Volume 2

Volume 2 in 4 part settings by Bernard Thomas. 82 Dances. 

'This second volume of 4 part arrangements of tunes from Playford's Dancing Master contains fewer of the well-known tunes that have come down in different settings, though there are some: the last tune in our selection, St Martin's Lane, which Purcell used in his music for "The Virtuous Wife", is found in 18th century French and German collections. A couple of tunes were composed to standard ground basses, such as 'Paul's Steeple' and 'Uptails All' figure in the keyboard works pf composers such as Giles Farnaby. 

Chronologically this selection covers a wider period than the first volume, including tunes that first appeared in Playford as late as 1696. However, many of the later tunes are quite similar to those from the earliest editions of the Dancing Master, and it is reasonable to assume that there was more continuity in this kind of popular music than there would have been in High Art music. The arrangements in our collection have been kept mostly rather simple, as starting point or further elaboration according to the instruments available'. Bernard Thomas. 

Score: 45 pages only.