LCD - Discussion of tunes

From a discussion of 3- and 4-part arrangements of English Country Dance tunes on the ECD mailing list, June 16, 1997:

Gene Murrow writes: Great to see references to the many fine collections of multi-part ECD arrangements (M. Barron, B. Thomas, W. Strickland) on the list. They can add tremendously to the enjoyment of the music. A few practical pointers that may save callers/leaders some grief if you decide to use these arrangements for your dances...

1. These multi-part arrangements are written in "score" format (all 3 or 4 parts written one under the other on the page; not separate music for each part). This means you will need more than one copy for your band. Don't cheat the arrangers by photocopying; buy multiple copies if you intend to use this material regularly.

2. Very, very few of the dances have indications of chords (harmonies)-- none of Strickland's or Thomas', only some of Barron's. This means that any piano, harpsichord, guitar or lute players you have in the band will have to be able to determine the harmonies on the fly (known as "short score" reading in the trade). This is not a common ability (except among pro harpsichord or lute players). If you have a piano, harpsichord, guitar, or lute in the band, let them see the music well in advance to write in the chord changes.

Eric Arnold responds: Of the editions I included in my list of dance titles, chords are included for all of Barron's editions except "Playford for Young String Players". And of course, I don't know about the several volumes of hers that I haven't included because I don't have them yet.

Gene Murrow resumes:

3. Don't mix these arrangements with other published versions-- Barnes or Sharp, for example. The harmonies are often different.

4. Sheila Beardslee Bosworth correctly noted in a recent post:

"Mr. Thomas's... volumes of Playford dance arrangements are easy to play, historically accurate and stylistically correct. For some of us who play historical music on period instruments and are interested in taking a historical approach to dance this is important and very satisfying. I find them better suited to early instruments than Marshall Barron's arrangements. Marshall's arrangements are good, but they ain't HIP [historically informed performance] and she never set out to make them so..."

[Gene Murrow again] Active contemporary EC dancers used to the sound of accomplished bands improvising on our favorite tunes will find the Thomas and Strickland arrangements "flat" sounding-- rhythmically and harmonically. Marshall Barron's arrangements feature the kinds of contemporary (and non-historical) harmonies we're more accustomed to, and the "lilt" or lift we expect is built into her part writing. The historically correct arrangements in Thomas and Strickland work better for historically correct English country dancing (more emphasis on the downbeat, so practice those pas de bourree steps!).

5. You'll probably get less variety in each turn of the dance if the band is using one of these arrangements. It's harder to improvise within a written-out set of parts, and psychologically one just "plays the part.." On the other hand, if your band is not being very creative reading from Barnes (where only the melody and chords are indicated), these arrangements will ADD tremendously to their sound, and will help them learn how to construct inventive countermelodies and ornamentations.

Eric Arnold adds: Barron includes some excellent suggestions for enhancing the variety in some of her books -- particularly the earlier ones, I think. They include just playing melody or melody and bass, and playing the alto harmony part an octave higher so it is above the melody. With some of the other usual tricks, such as changing which instrument carries the melody and judicious use of percussion, there's quite a bit to work with, but of course it takes pretty experienced musicians to pull it off "on the fly".

She also includes some excellent general advice to bands on playing for dancers, such as keeping the melody clear and stressing upbeats. Much good stuff there...

Editor's note: If you would like to help expand the index to include books not in Eric Arnold's library, please let me know!

- Susie Lorand, srl@phoenix.princeton.edu

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