Annotation:Flora Set--1st Figure
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FLORA SET--FIRST FIGURE. American, Quadrille (6/8 time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABACA. The quadrille set of five figures or parts was printed by Providence, Rhode Island, violinist, music teacher and dance fiddler biography:George Saunders in his violin tutor of 1847. The volume contains several sets of cotillons and quadrilles, many composed by Saunders himself.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Alvin_Saunders.jpg)
Saunders' tutor also contain excellent advice for playing for dances:
Hilarity, mirth and cheerfulness are characteristics of dancing; consequently the music requires to be played in a bold and majestic manner, with a great deal of fire, life, and animation, with strong accentuations, square bowings, and in strict time. Easy music, that which is most pleasing to the ear as a general thing, gives the best satisfaction for dancing. Hard and difficult music, if well executed, is not always appreciated; and then it is too laborious many times to perform, when a person has to play steadily all through the night, which is frequently the case. It is an old saying--and I think, with upwards of twenty years' experience in the profession, a true one--that good music makes a company cheerful and lively, and adds a charm to the beauty of both sexes; whereas poor music makes a company dull and unsociable.
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Saunders (New and Complete Instructor for the Violin), Boston, 1847; No. 1, p. 87.
Recorded sources: