A Collection of Songs, Airs and Dances for the Violin (1818)

Book One (Northampton MS 12) CM100

£8

John Clare left behind him a fascinating insight into what it was like to be a village fiddler,

in his poems, his writings and his tune collections. This first book contains 74 different tunes, some in different versions.

Following our publication of Book 1 of his fiddle tune collection, I shall gradually add notes on this page on some of the tunes as they emerge from my investigations. One aspect that has particularly grabbed me is the way very similar, or indeed identical, versions of his tunes appear in other manuscript tune books of the time - same key, same slurs, even same note groupings, and I have tried to locate the common ancestor - presumably a printed source. What is remarkable is the range of music represented in his collection: songs his parents sang, popular songs from operas, tunes he learnt from the various Gypsy families that camped near Helpstone, as well as country dances, jigs, reels, folk songs of the time as well as Scottish and Irish tunes.

Here is a preview of the first page of music:

1. *means slight editorial intervention, usually adjusting slight rhythmic inaccuracies to make the notes fit grammatically.
   

** means considerable editorial intervention, where Clare’s notation is so unclear that a certain amount of creative guesswork is needed to make the tune performable. There are very few instances of this: and my work can easily be checked though

George Deacon’s book, ‘John Clare and the folk tradition’

or at the village music project:

http://www.village-music-project.org.uk

NOTES

1. A possible printed source for a group of tunes is:

Preston’s Twenty four Country Dances for the year 1793

In this volume, tunes 9 (Kempshot Hunt), 19 (Archers Dance) and 25 (Welsh Jigg) all appear pretty well exactly as Clare was to notate them and in the same order.

In Preston’s book they appear as tunes 209, 226 and 232. The slurs in Clare’s tune 9 are slightly changed, or may just be roughly notated.

To consult Preston’s volume follow this link:

http://library.efdss.org/cgi-bin/dancebooks.cgi

2. 2.Another possible printed source is:
   

The Compleat Tutor for the Violin (published by John Preston in 1778, but claiming to be by Geminiani - available at IMSLP).

This contains tunes 51 (called ‘Turkish March’ rather than Clare’s ‘Quick Step in the Battle of Prague’), 56 (Tink a tink), 75 (Bugle Horn - a few differences however), 8 (Battle of Prague - some tiny differences of detail) and 19 (Archers Dance).

3. 3.Another printed source could be:
   

Dale’s Selection of the most favorite country dances and reels (c. 1800 - available at IMSLP)

for tunes 13 (Morgan Rattler) and 14 Highland Plaid (even down to one of the dynamic marks!)

4. 4.Surprising similarities in other manuscript sources occur in:
   

John Moore’s collection (18, 22, 24, 37, 81)

http://library.efdss.org/cgi-bin/dancebooks.cgi

and the

Snow Hill Manuscript (41, 52, 54, 65)

http://www.village-music-project.org.uk

Further information will appear here as research progresses! If you know more than I do, do please get in touch!

List of Tunes in Book 1 (titles in italics are alternative titles not given by Clare)

Adieu my native Land Adieu (duet)

Archers Dance

Ashleys Hornpipe

Ashleys Rides (Astley’s Ride)

Battle of Prague

Bedfordshire March

Beggar Girl, The

Betty Brown

Bobbing Joan

Bugle Horn

Burdett, The

Captn Mackintosh

Cassano, The

Cherry Cheek’d Patty

Come to the Bower (Vandals of Hammerwich/Will you come to the Bower)

Coolan (The Coulin)

Corporal Cazy

Cuckoo, The

Disconsolate Sailor

Downs, The

Dull Care (duet)

Ere around the huge oak

Evening Hymn

Fal lal la

George 2nd

Green grows the rushes O

Hearts of Oak

Heaving of the Lead

Highland Plaid

Ita: Minefrida

Jem of Aberdeen

Jennys Bawbee

Jockey to the Fair

Kempshot Hunt

La Bel Jean

Ladys Breast Nott (Bonny Breast Knots)

Lass of Richmond Hill

Lincolnshire Rangers

Logerian Fancy, The

Lullaby, The

Maid of Skylight

March in Ladaiska (Ladoïska)

March in Scipio

Marionets

Marquis Wellinton

Miss Crioux’s Reel

Miss Hills Favourite

Moll i’ the Wad

Money Musk

Montrose’s Reel

Morgan Rattler

Morgiana

Morgiana in Ireland

Mrs Cazy (Casey)

Oh dear what can the matter be

Opera Hat

Paddy Wack

Portuguese, The

Quick Step in the Battle of Prague

Rakes of Mellow (Rakes of Mallow)

Recovery, The

Red Petticoat Hornpipe

Rowley (Frog he would a wooing go)

Rule Britannia

Secilian, The

Self, The (The Sylph, or Plymouth Lasses)

Speed the Plough

Stopfords Reel

Storm, The

Tickeli (Tekeli)

Tink a tink

Welsh Jigg

White Cockade, The

Woodpecker (The Wood Picker)

<h1>sheet music for fiddle tunes by John Clare</h1>