Dances in The Country Dance Book (Part 4) (Cecil Sharp, 1916)
The Dancing Master, 10th ed.
| King of Poland |  | Henry Playford 1698 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Assembly | Bare Necessities | Duple Minor |
| The Coronation Day ~ Sharp | | Henry Playford 1698 Cecil Sharp 1916 |  | Duple Minor |
| Mock Hobby-Horse | | Henry Playford 1698 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Assembly | | Duple Minor |
The Dancing Master, 6th ed.
| Christ-Church Bells in Oxon | | John Playford 1679 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | | Duple Minor |
The Dancing Master, 9th ed.
| Mr. Isaac's Maggot ~ Sharp | | Henry Playford 1695 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Bare Necessities | Duple Minor |
| The Whim | | Henry Playford 1695 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Duple Minor |
| Jacob Hall's Jig ~ Sharp | | Henry Playford 1695 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | Duple Minor |
The Dancing Master, First Appendix to the 7th Edition
| Jenny Come Tie My Cravat ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1687 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
The Dancing Master, The Third Volume, 2nd ed.
| Up Goes Ely ~ Sharp | | John Young (Playford family) 1726 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
| The Mary and Dorothy | | John Young (Playford family) 1726 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Duple Minor |
| My Lady Winwood's Maggot ~ Sharp | | John Young (Playford family) 1726 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Colin Hume | Triple Minor |
The Dancing Master, Vol. the Second, 3rd ed.
| The Collier's Daughter ~ Sharp | | John Young (Playford family) 1718 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Bare Necessities | Triple Minor |
| The Duke of Rutland's Delight (Triple) | | John Young (Playford family) 1718 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Bare Necessities | Triple Minor |
| A Trip to Killburn | | John Young (Playford family) 1718 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Colin Hume | Triple Minor |
The second Part of the Dancing Master, 2nd ed.
| The Temple-Change | | Henry Playford 1698 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Duple Minor |
The English Dancing Master
| Halfe Hannikin ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Assembly | Colin Hume | Circle as many as will |
| Step Stately ~ Part 3, Quadruple 7 Couple | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Quadruple Minor |
| Step Stately ~ Part 3, Triple 7 Couple | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
| Step Stately ~ Part 3, Whole Set 7 Couple | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | 7 Couple Longways permutation: 2345671 |
| Jog On | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp (mod) 1916 | | Duple Minor |
| Jog On, My Honey | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp (mod) 1916 | | Duple Minor |
| Jogg On | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp (mod) 1916 | | Duple Minor |
| Hit and Misse ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | Facing Couples |
| Hit or Miss | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | Facing Couples |
| Edinburgh Castle ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | 3 Couple Longways |
| Harts Ease | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | Facing Couples |
| Heart's Ease | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | Facing Couples |
| Heartsease | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | Facing Couples |
| Prince Rupert's March | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | 4 Couple Longways |
| Scotch Cap ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | 3 Couple Longways |
| Aye Me ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Colin Hume | 4 Couple Longways |
| The Boatman ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | A Playford Ball Bare Necessities | 3 Couple Longways |
| The Health ~ Sharp#1 | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Colin Hume | 4 Couple Longways |
| The Health ~ Sharp#2 | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Colin Hume | 4 Couple Longways |
| The Merry Wassail ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Colin Hume | 4 Couple Longways |
| The Merry Wassail ~ Sharp#1 | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Colin Hume | 4 Couple Longways |
| The Symphony | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Colin Hume | 4 Couple Longways |
| Picking of Stickes | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | | 3 Couple Longways |
| Picking Up Sticks | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | | 3 Couple Longways |
| Step Stately | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Colin Hume | 3 Couple Longways |
| Greenwood | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | 3 Couple Longways |
| The Huntsman | | Lovelace Manuscript ~1649 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | 3 Couple Longways |
| The Whirligig | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Assembly | | 3 Couple Longways |
| Step Stately ~ Old Style Progression, 7 Couple | | John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | 7 Couple Longways |
The Dancing Master, 3rd ed.
| Lady Banbury's Hornpipe ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1657 Cecil Sharp 1916 | Colin Hume | Duple Minor |
| Gelding of the Devil | | John Playford 1657 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | 3 Couple Circle |
The Dancing Master, 4th ed.
| Put on Thy Smock a Monday | | John Playford 1670 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | 3 Couple Circle |
| The Beginning of the World | | John Playford 1657 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Colin Hume | Circle as many as will |
| Sellenger's Round | | John Playford 1657 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Colin Hume | Circle as many as will |
| Oaken Leaves | | John Playford 1670 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Square |
The Dancing Master, 7th ed.
| The Fit's Come on Me Now | | John Playford 1686 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Duple Minor |
| Love Lies A'Bleeding | | John Playford 1686 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Duple Minor |
A new Additional Sheet to the Dancing Master
| Maids Morris ~ Sharp | | John Playford 1688 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Assembly | Colin Hume | Duple Minor |
A new Addition to the Dancing Master
| Cold and Raw | | John Playford 1689 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | | Duple Minor |
| The Juice of Barley | | John Playford 1689 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | | Duple Minor |
The Dancing Master, 8th ed.
| Pool's Hole #1 | | Henry Playford 1690 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Duple Minor |
| Lilli Burlero ~ Sharp | | Henry Playford 1690 Cecil Sharp 1916 | More Favorites of the Boston Centre Bare Necessities | Duple Minor |
The Dancing Master, Vol. the Second
| Every Lad His Lass ~ Sharp | | John Young (Playford family) 1710 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
| Bump her Belly | | John Young (Playford family) 1710 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
| Epsom New Wells ~ Sharp | | John Young (Playford family) 1710 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
| The Maiden's Blush | | John Young (Playford family) 1710 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
| Lady Mary's Courant | | John Young (Playford family) 1710 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
| My Lady's Courant | | John Young (Playford family) 1710 Cecil Sharp 1916 | | Triple Minor |
The Dancing Master, Vol. the second, 4th ed.
| Orleans Baffled | | John Young (Playford family) 1728 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball | Bare Necessities | Triple Minor |
| Number of dances | Number of interpretations | Number with music |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | 48 | 20 |
After being disappointed by the country dances which he could find still extant in England Sharp turned his attention to the various editions of The Dancing Master — and only them, he did not publish interpretations of any later works.
Sharp clearly felt that Country Dancing fell into a decline after about 1670:
A critical examination of these successive editions (of Playford) shows that the dance degenerated very rapidly during the period covered by them, and the large number of dance-manuals subsequently issued by Walsh, Thompson, Waylett, and others furthermore proves that this decline continued during the two following centuries...—Cecil Sharp, The Country Dance Book part 5, 1918, p. 9
I'm not sure what his metrics were for this decline, but he was convinced of it. Perhaps he just didn't like duple or triple minor dances?
Dealing with Playford's text presents challenges which do not arise when you record a living tradition. Playford is sometimes consise to the point of obscurity, he did not seem to employ a proof reader and there are mistakes in his text (in that the figures he describe don't work together, or don't fit the music, etc.), and finally he used words whose meanings have now been lost.
Sharp had to do his best to figure out what was meant from these descriptions. And he did an amazingly good job of it too. Not always perfect. Now with 100 years of hindsight we know things he didn't, but if he hadn't started we won't have that hindsight.
Playford frequently says "Sides all". What does that mean? The concept of siding had died out in the Country Dance tradition around 1700 (the last Playford dance that used it was in 1670) and no one in England in 1900 knew. Sharp came up with an interpretation, and later in his life a different interpretation. We don't know if either is correct.
Or take the word "salute" Sharp interprets that as "honour" — which certainly fits the modern meaning of the word (a respectful greeting). But the Lovelace Manuscript makes it clear that "salute" meant "kiss" on the dance floor.
Look at Row well ye mariners, Playford describes the dance as:
The dance consists of two 16 bar parts. The first is well defined, but for the second we have only that people should "side" (whatever that is) with their neighbors and then (somehow) progress. Now siding is a move which takes 4 bars and leaves one where one started. It does not progress and it leaves 12 bars of music unaccounted for.
Lead up a D. forwards and back · That again : First man two slips cross the Room one way, the woman the other · Back again to your places : Fall back both · Meet again : Clap both your own hands, then clap each other's right-hands against one another's; clap both your own hands again, then clap left-hands, then clap both hands again, then clap your breasts, then meet both your hands against one-another · The same again, only clap left-hands first :
First man sides with the next wo. and his wo. with the next man, doing the like till you come to your own places, the rest following and doing the same.
Sharp faced all these challenges and presented us with well over 100 danceable reinterpretations of Playford.
The various parts of the Country Dance Book are:
- The Country Dance Book (Part 1), 1909 — Country dances actually danced in England at the time.
- The Country Dance Book (Part 2), 1911
- The Country Dance Book (Part 3), 1912
- The Country Dance Book (Part 4), 1916
- The Country Dance Book (Part 5), 1918 — This is devoted to "The Running Set", an early form of Square Dance, and I have no animations of it.
- The Country Dance Book (Part 6), 1922
This website is copyright © 2021-2025 by George W. Williams V
My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Most of the dances have more restrictive licensing, see my notes on copyright, the individual dance pages should mention when some rights are waived.