Annotation:Pantaloon (The)
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PANTALOON, THE. English, Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune appears to be unique to the Thompson's 1788 Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 5. While the title may refer to a type of woman's undergarment, Pantaloon was also a comic character of the Commedia dell'arte, often a foil for the trickster Harlequin. In Harlequin plays, he was the greedy, elderly father of Columbine who tries to keep the lovers separated and assists Clown in his tricks.
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 5), London, 1788; No. 132, p. 66.
Recorded sources: