Mr Preston’s three-two

This three-two was published in “Original Lancashire Hornpipes, Old and New”, by Thomas Marsden, Playford 1705.

The tune was used by the band The Famous Five (now known as Spiro) on an eponymous track on their first commercial recording, “Lost in Fishponds” of 1994. This was a cassette recording so know may be difficult to find.

It is also known as the “Cheshire Round”, but this was applied to several tunes for the dance of this name.

One thing about these three-twos with a large number of parts, sometimes in double figures, is that everyone gets their money’s worth!

The modern publication of the original source is John Offord’s “John of the Green, the Cheshire Way”.

Gary West has been teaching this at smallpipes workshops in North America. Not sure where he got his setting from but it is a bit more economical of parts, if time and/or memory are at a premium.

X:1
T:Mr Preston’s Hornpipe
C:Arr. Gary West
M:3/2
L:1/8
K:Hp
|:a4 g4 e4|a2 e4 dc BcdB|a4 g4 e4|g2 d4 G2BcdB:|
|:a2 e4 A2 c4|A2 e4 A2 BcdB|A2 e4 A2 c4|B2 g4 d2 BcdB:|
|:a e2 f d3 e c4|a2 e4 dc BcdB|a e2 f d3 e c4|g2 d4 G2 BcdB:|
|:A2 e2 cdec A2 e2|A2 e4 dc BcdB|a e2 f d3 e c4|f2 d4 G2 BcdB:|
|:A2 e2 cdec A2 e2|cdec A2 e2 BcdB|A2 e2 cdec A2 e2|d2 g2 d2 G2 BcdB:|
|:a2 c4 d2 e2 a2|c2 e2 A2 d2 BcdB|A2 c4 d2 e2 dc|B2 g2 d2 G2 BcdB:|
|:agfe fedc dcBA|a2 e4 dc BcdB|agfe fedc dcBA|g2 d4 G2 BcdB:|

This is none of my own work. I am merely copying the setting in the comments above submitted by malcombpiper, because I want to compare it with the original X:1. I wish people would not post the abc versions of tunes in the comments. It’s very easy to add the abc to the site in the proper way.