Newcastle barndance

I learned this tune a long time ago, used to play it with friends at kitchen bashes, getting trashed on imported Bunratty’s potcheen (nasty stuff), so I might be overly sentimental about the melody. I think its lovely. I believe it’s different from the Newcastle Hornpipe, so I submitted it under barndance. It actually should be played quite briskly, 1/2 = 115 or so. This is my first tune post and I’m still figuring out this abc stuff.

well, not briskly. moderately? I can’t set the tempo here like I can on concertina.net, the, uh, Q field.

I certainly agree with the idea of calling this a ‘Country dance’. It is from the Playford collection of stately/courtley dances. C17 English. Tempo is NOT brisk. have you done the dance or played for it? that would help your knowledge, and others for that matter.

Agree with hetty re tempo for dancers. It’s a rather pretty, stately dance with some moves (e.g. a deep bow from the gents whilst they remove and replace their hats) really needing the musicians to take it gently otherwise the whole thing’s a disaster. Not least because the dancers come and beat you up afterwards 8>)

If you’re just playing it as an instrumental you could move it along a bit more ‘to taste’. I stil wouldn’t go hell-for-leather though or it’ll sound a bit ‘uptight’.

by Peter Barnes, well selected and well chorded, 426 tunes, and volume 2 is in process:

http://home.comcast.net/~peterbarnes/

Got confused for a sec there. This is not on the brian conway album (as stated on the "details" page,) and, if memory serves, it’s not on the milestone at the garden album either. The hornpipe is on those albums.

T:Newcastle
M:C|
L:1/8
K:G
D2 |: "G" B2 d2 G2 "D" A2 | "G" G3 A G2 "D" D2 | "G" B2 d2 G2 d2 | "C" e
2 g4 fe |
"G" d2 B2 "D" A2 "G" G2 | "C" E2 "Am" e4 dc | "G" d2 B2 "D" A3 G | [1 "G
" G8 :| [2 "G" G6 ||
|: "Am" ef | "G" gfed g3 B | "Am" A2 g4 A2 | "G" G3 A B2 F2 | "C" E2 (e2
"Am" e2) f2 |
"G" gfed g3 B | "Am" A2 A2 c3 d | "Am" e2 B2 "D" A3 G | "G" G6 :|

A lot of people play this with Portsmouth which is also from Playford. Angels of the North play it as a brisk march for the Gay Gordons after "Scotland the Brave" and before "My laddies ower bonny for the coal trade"
NoelJackson
Angels of the North

I’ve heard it slow, but, honestly, I’ve heard it fast more often. As far as classical discography goes, when period bands record it, it’s usually fast. Although, they probably don’t have dancers to consider. Still, food for thought.

It has become traditional to play the high note in the second bar of the B part as a G, but in most editions of Playford, you will find it printed as an A. Less interesting maybe, and not really of much consequence, but this is what can happen to tunes that are ‘revived’ (such as Playford tunes - we have little idea how they would have been played) rather than handed down by tradition.

Maddy Prior has a version of this on YouTube with verses I had never heard. Britten set this for voice and piano, recorded several times, where I heard it first, but that version is not great. The early music groups play it very fast.

A la Sassafras Stomp who play a lot of contra dances in the States.

As a [now ex-] Playford dancer I have never heard this called "The" Newcastle. It is just "Newcastle".

My setting of the tune, with chords.

Just learned this pretty tune.
For fun, playing along with this video where you can see the dancers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNIPWmZ9GII

play video