This
evening's dance card includes:
1.
Grand March Medley (9:05) [audio sample]
Nineteenth-century balls, and grand marches in
particular, often contained popular selections. This
medley includes songs that were popular during the
Civil War in both the North and the South. It was
common for one side to write parodies of songs that
were currently popular with the other side.
Kingdon Coming (Henry Clay Work, 1862)
Battle Cry of Freedom (George Frederick Root,
1862)
Dixie's Land (Dixie) (Dan D. Emmett, 1860)
Darling Nellie Gray (Benjamin R. Hanby,
1856)
The Girl I Left Behind Me (old British tune,
first published in U.S. in 1770)
2.
Prima Donna, or Plain Waltz (2:45)
This sweet melody was composed by the famous French
bandmaster and showman Louis Antoine Jullien. Its
appearance in several American music publications from
the late 1850s shows how popular it was. Liz added the
harmonies.
3.
Soldier's Joy Medley (4:45) [audio sample]
Both Soldier's Joy and College Hornpipe
are traditional fiddle tunes that remain in circulation
today. The second tune, now usually known as
Sailor's Hornpipe, is at least 400 years old.
The tunes and the dance appear in a number of
midcentury dance manuals and music books.
4.
Cally Polka (2:15) [audio sample]
Our version of this piece comes from an 1854
publication by Stephen Foster, The Social
Orchestra. Foster arranged a number of popular
melodies, including his own songs, for people to play
in their own homes or for small social gatherings. The
anonymous tune itself is older, as Allen Dodworth
published an arrangement in 1846.
5-7.
The Lancers Quadrilles
5. La Dorset (1:52)
6. La Native (1:32)
7. Les Lanciers (3:52)
One of the most popular quadrille sets throughout the
nineteenth century was The Lancers. It has the
standard five-part quadrille form, but we usually play
only parts 1, 3, and 5 at dances. Our orchestration,
from The Star Collection of Instrumental Music
by John W. Moore (1858) reads "As danced at Nahant,
Newport, Saratoga, and Other Fashionable Places."
8. Sans
Souci Galop (1:40) [audio sample]
During the second half of the nineteenth century,
galops evolved into bravura showpieces, usually for a
particular instrument. Sans Souci by J. Ascher typifies the simpler musical style popular in
the 1840s, when the galop's primary purpose was lively
dancing. Galops often followed quadrilles on dance
programs.
9.
Byerly's Waltz (2:30) [audio sample]
We found this waltz in Foster's Social
Orchestra. It may have had another name, but Foster
just called it after its composer, William Byerly. We
added the harmonies.
10.
Jenny Lind Polka (2:00) [audio sample]
Though written at least 150 years ago, two parts of
this polka are still familiar today. Anton Wallerstein
composed the tune to honor the world-famous singer (and
media sensation) known as "The Swedish Nightingale."
Our version is from William Dressler's arrangement,
published in Dodworth's Polka Quadrilles (1852),
with a flourish or two added by Bill.
11. La
Tempete (5:25)
La Tempete is a short piece by the French
dancing master Charles d'Albert that accompanies a
dance of the same name. Our version comes from
Howe's Fifty Contra Dances (Elias Howe, ca.
1860). Peter plays a reproduction of a period
instrument, the natural trumpet, for the fanfare
section.
12.
Bluebird Polka Redowa (2:30)
There are a couple of different midcentury dances
called redowas. Despite the name, the polka redowa is
really more like a waltz than a polka. The steps are a
bit more complicated than a waltz, so the tempo has to
be slower. Susan and Liz added harmonies to this piece by Weingarten.
13.
Crystal Schottische (2:25) [audio sample]
This is another William Byerly dance tune that Foster
included in The Social Orchestra. Foster
arranged it for violin and flute, with accompaniment by
a second violin and bass. We've followed this
arrangement, but substituted piano for the original
accompaniment.
14.
Gothic Dance, or Merry Haymaker's Medley
(5:40)
We often play three traditional Irish jigs for either
of two dances at reenactment balls. The Gothic
Dance gets its name from everyone raising their
arms, making two long lines of pointed arches like a
Gothic cathedral. Go to the Devil and Shake
Yourself is listed as the music for the Merry
Haymaker's dance in Howe's No. 2 Fifty Contra
Dances (ca. 1860). Gary Owen and Larry
O'Gaff appear in several 1850s and 1860s music
publications.
15.
Charming Waltz (2:15) [audio sample]
Published in 1858, this piece by C. Kinkel works for
both the redowa waltz and the ordinary waltz. The
redowa waltz is more lively than either tha polka
redowa or the ordinary waltz, with elegant small leaps
(called cut or spring steps) to each bar of the
music.
16.
Virginia Reel Medley (5:55) [audio sample]
Only some of the songs popular during the Civil War
made good dance tunes. Three of the best are included
here. Harry Macarthy published The Bonny Blue
Flag in 1861, but he set the words to an old tune
that's probably an Irish jig. Most people only know
half of When Johnny Comes Marching Home. The
original, published in 1863 by "Louis Lambert" (real
name: Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore), includes 8 additional
bars of music. These, too, sound like an old jig from
Gilmore's native Ireland. Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!
was published in 1864 by George Frederick Root (from
Western Massachusetts, not far from Spare Parts). The
final tune appears in 1850s quadrilles and never goes
out of style: Gioachino Rossinni's William Tell
Overture (1829).
17.
Spanish Waltz (6:25) [audio sample]
The closing piece, called the Spanish Dance or the Spanish Waltz, is music for a set dance done in a circle
or a line of couples, using waltz steps. While the dance is often done to
this melody, some sources show different music. The first two parts appear as "Spanish Dance" in
Howe's Drawing Room Dances (1859) and several other midcentury sources.
The second two parts appear as the Cinderella Waltz in Howe's School for the
Violin (1851) and The Home Circle Vol. I (1859). The Cinderella Waltz is the melody for
The Green Hills of Tyrol, adapted for bagpipes by Pipe Major John MacLeod duirng the
Crimean War (1854-1856).
|
Links:
ORDER NOW
secure online store
Spare Parts musicians
Returning Heroes
more music for the Civil War ballroom
The Civil War
Ballroom
sheet music
Pugliese's
Dances for
The Civil War Ballroom
dance instructions
Couple Dances of
the Civil War Ballroom
dance instruction DVD with demos
Dancing by the Shore
Victorian CD
The Regency Ballroom CD
music from Jane Austen's time
The
Waltz
Books
Spare Parts schedule
upcoming dances
Now Tango
ragtime CD
Tango Viejo
solo piano CD
Argentine Tangos
for Piano
sheet music
The
Commonwealth Vintage Dancers
Habaneras, Maxixes & Tangos
sheet music of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina
The Royal Scotch Quadrilles of 1834
CD and instructions
The 1880s Polo Quadrille
CD and instructions
|
