Annotation:Adson's Saraband

"Adson's Saraband" was published by Playford in his English Dancing Master (1651) as a dance tune, "longways for six." According to Pulver (1923), the melody is quite old and was considered part of the traditional repertoire in John Playford's day. The melody was named for John Adson (d. 1640), a court musician and composer of music for masques. According to Ian Payne (The Almain in Britain, c. 1549-c. 1675) the name saraband had been divorced from its original triple meter form by Playford's time, and was simply a country dance dance and tune. The melody was derived from an original by Adson, but was a variant derived, says Payne, from the second half of a tripla of one of Adson's consort pieces.

Also published in: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 39. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1909/1994; pg. 31.