Annotation:Helston Furry Dance

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 HELSTON FURRY DANCE. English, Morris Dance Tune (4/4 time). F Major (Karpeles, Raven): G Major (Carlin): D Major (Barnes). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune and its variants are widespread over England and Wales. The name Helston, referring to a town in Cornwall, comes from a Celtic root, henlis, meaning 'old court', coupled with and Old English ending, 'ton' (tun), meaning an enclosure, farm or village. It is an ancient market town and was first granted its charter in the year 1201. Helston was one of the ancient coinage towns where ingots of Welsh tine were assayed and stamped to assess the duty to be paid to the Duke of Cornwall (during the process a corner, or coign, was cut off to be tested for quality). In early times Helston was a port town at the head of the Cober estuary, but around the 13th century it began to silt up until nowadays a great shingle bank has formed across the estuary making the largest freshwater lake in Cornwall. The Furry Dance takes place on the 8th of May, when the first greenery of spring appears and the town is decorated with bluebells and hazel, among others. It takes the form of a dignified procession with separate dances for adults and children. The dancers dress in top hats and tails and their finest dresses, and the procession follows a traditional route, even passing through people's homes, shops and gardens. As with many morris dances, pagan origins are ascribed to the ritual that "welcomes in the spring." See "Processional Morris Dance (2)]", and a variant of the Helston tune, "Nobody's Jig."  Source for notated version:  Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; p. 57. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 55, p. 40. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; p. 39. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 75.  Recorded sources: Topic TSCD607, Billy Cooper, Walter & Daisy Bulwer - "English Country Music" (2000. Originally recorded 1962).  See also listing at: Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources

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