Hambleton's Round O
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HAMBLETON'S ROUND O. AKA - "Hambleton's Round." English, Country Dance Tune (3/2 time). C Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The tune dates to 1710 when it was printed in the first edition of the Second Volume of the Dancing Master [1] (p. 105), printed in London by John Young, heir to the Playford publishing concerns. The tune was retained in the next edition of Second Volume of the Dancing Master (1714), and can also be found in Walsh and Randall's The New Country Dancing Master, Second Book (1710).
A 'round-o' is an English corruption of the French rondeau or the Italian rondo. The structure is song-like, verse and chorus style, with one part repeatedly returned to, while the alternating ones introduce new melodic material, as in ABACADA structure, for example. It was a popular dance form in the 17th century, but by the latter part of the 18th century it was considered an anachronism and seldom employed in country dance tunes.
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986.
Recorded sources: Flying Fish FF90564, Bare Necessities - "Take a Dance" (1991).
