Fiddler thought to be John Locke (1871-1947), Leominster, HerefordSTAFFORDSHIRE HORNPIPE, THE. English, Sword Dance Tune (2/2 time). D Major (Sharp): G Major (Barber). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Sharp): AABB (Barber). "Staffordshire Hornpipe" was interjected by collector Cecil Sharp as an alternate tune for the second figure for the sword dance from Flamborough, Staffordshire, England. Sharp deemed the tune played for the dance the men performed for him in December, 1910, to be "not suitable" (i.e. not "traditional" enough, in his opinion), so Sharp substituted his recently collected "Staffordshire Hornpipe", which he had obtained from fiddler John Locke[1] (1871-1947) of Leominster, Hereford. One of the earliest sound recordings of the tune was in 1909 when Sharp waxed it on a cylinder from the playing of Locke, described as a “gipsy fiddler.”
Additional notes
Printed sources : - Barber (Nick Barber's English Choice), 2002; No. 57, p. 27. Callaghan (Hardcore English), 2007; p. 24. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; p. 30. Kirkpatrick & Harris (Opus Pocus), 1988. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 77. Cecil Sharp (The Sword Dances of Northern England, Book 2), 1912; p. 11.
Recorded sources : - DMPCD 0204, Nick & Mary Barber with Huw Jones - "Lovely Nancy" (2002).
