Annotation:Gathering Peascods

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GATHERING PEASCODS. English, Country Dance Tune (2/2 or 4/4 time). A Major (Barnes, Karpeles, Raven, Sharp): G Major (Chappell, Johnson, Playford). Standard tuning (fiddle). ABC (Chappell): AABBCC (Barnes, Johnson, Karpeles, Raven, Sharp). Peascods = pea-pods. John Brand, in his Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain (1849), records the custom of 'peascod wooing', along with the tradition of divining love affairs from pea-pods. This air was first published in London by John Playford in the first edition of his English Dancing Master of 1651 (p. 90), and was retained in the long-running Dancing Master series of editions through the 8th edition of 1690 (then published by son Henry Playford). The tune and dance were dropped from the Dancing Master in subsequent editions. Antiquarian William Chappell (1859) observes that the first four bars are identical with those of "All in a Garden Green," and that, while the title suggests a ballad was once attached to the tune, no words have ever been found. Both "Gathering Peascods" and "All in a Garden Green" are derivatives (along with many other tunes) of the ancient ground "Hunt's Up" or "King's Hunts Up (The)," a melody associated with Henry VIII. Dean-Smith and Nicol summarize"

Playford's "Gathering Peascods" is in itself a tiny fantasia, with inserted variation on a tune called "All in a Garden Green" (not the one of that name in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book) or "Edward Alleyn's Jig" and both are variations on "The King's Hunt's Up," a tune that can scarcely be later than Edward VI's time, and is usually associated with Henry VIII. Its use as a jig by a famous actor makes it fairly certain that it had words of a ballad character bespeaking as much original popularity as endurance of long life, even in disguise^[1].

Additional notes

Printed sources : - Barlow (Complete Country Dance Tunes from Playford's Dancing Master), 1985; No. 27, p. 22. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. 1, 1859; p. 301. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 14: Songs, Airs and Dances of the 18th Century), 1997; p. 8. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; p. 12. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pp. 22 & 47. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1909; p. 16.

Recorded sources : - Amon Ra CDSAR 28, The Broadside Band – “John Playford’s Popular Tunes” (recorded 1986-1991). Harmonia Mundi 907101, The King's Delight - "17c. Ballads for Voice and Violin Band" (1992). Saydisc CDSDL449, The Broadside Band - "Traditional Dance Music of Britain & Ireland" (2018).

See also listing at :
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]

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↑ Margaret Dean-Smith & E.J. Nicol, “The Dancing Master: 1651-1728: Part III. “Our Country Dances.” Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, vol. 4, No. 6 (Dec., 1945), pp. 216.

[1] Margaret Dean-Smith & E.J. Nicol, “The Dancing Master: 1651-1728: Part III. “Our Country Dances.” Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, vol. 4, No. 6 (Dec., 1945), pp. 216.

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