Ijswals waltz

A 4-part 17th century Dutch tune. The name means “Ice Waltz”, so it is suitable for late February in the Northern Hemisphere! The pronunciation of the Dutch and English is close enough for the linguistic resemblance to be fairly obvious.

The original 17th century name of the tune was Oude Passepie (“Old Passepied”), a relatively slow dance in 3/8 time. In 1925 a waltz (in 3/4) called “Ijswals” was devised to be danced to the old tune, and the new name has stuck.

I was taught it at last Friday’s session (26 Feb) by a visiting fiddler. The A-flat at the start of the 4th bar of the A part is deliberate, but is optional (some instruments might find it a problem).

I think this tune would go well with some of the Playford tunes (same period, of course).

This tune has been published in a collection called ‘Twee violen en een bas’ by Jos Koning, providing a second violin part and a bass part.