[SCA-Dance] Maundering about "Glory of the West"

[White, John]

>From: Alexander Clark [alexbclark at pennswoods.net]

----------------- Original post ----------------------
>> Anyone know "The Health"?
>>
>
> I've reconstructed it (http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~white/ECD/health.html ).
> The Health would seem to have only one phrase, and it's a four measure
> phrase,
> which means that my reconstruction is wrong in believing that the set is
> setting
> alone (or that St Cecilia recorded a different version ...).

I reconstructed and published it back in 1994, but haven't been
teaching it. I assumed that "set" meant "set and turn S." This is
supported by some of the dances in Sloane 3858: Bobing Joe repeatedly
calls for "set" or "sett" where the music would allow for a set and
turn (even where the Playford dance by that name and, presumably, that
tune calls for "set and turne S."), and Sollibrand (in the first part,
which seems to be about the same as The Saraband in Playford) says,
"Lead up, and sett twice" where Playford says, "Lead up forwards and
back, that againe, set and turne S. that againe _._".

I take this to mean that one kind of ellipsis sometimes used in dance
instructions in Playford's time was "set" as an abbreviation for "set
and turn single". This certainly seems to fit in Glory of the West.
---------------- Original post -------------------------

I'd like to point out yet another elipse in Henry's own example - "Lead up" for
forward a double and fall back a double.  These kinds of "you know what I mean"
shorthands are prevalent in Pattricke as well - both the lead up, and the set
for set and turn.  It happens in Playford too - his copyeditors weren't as
diligent as they might have been, though they did a better job than both Sloane
and Pattricke who were simply writing things down for themselves.  It is clear
that shorthands were used, what with three separate manuscripts exhibiting
it.

      \\Dafydd Cyhoeddwr