Annotation:Wives' Victory (The)
X:1 T:Wives' Victory, The M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Country Dance Tune B:Thomas Bray – “Country Dances” (London, 1699) N:The volume was dedicated to the 10 yr. old Duke of N:Gloucester, William Henry, son of Queen Anne. N:Bray was a theatrical dancer and dancing master in N:London in the 1690’s. Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Gmin d|g>fg a>ga |b>ag f>ed|g2d c>dB|(A3 A2) B/c/| d2z A2z|B2z f2z|c>de c2B|(B3 B2):| |:d/e/|f>gf B>cd|e>dc d>=f|=e>^fg a2b|(^f3 f2) d/c/| B2z e2z|A2zd2z|G>AB B>AG|(G3 G2):|]
WIVES' VICTORY, THE. English, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). G Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Wives' Victory" is an unidentified play, perhaps lost, although the title is recorded in several sources. The name was applied to a country dance and tune in choreographer biography:Thomas Bray's Country Dances, printed in 1699. At least some of the tunes used in the play were composed by musician Gottfied Finger (born c. 1660), who was active from the 1680's. He sometimes collaborated with contemporary composers John Eccles and Daniel Purcell. It is possible Bray's "Wives' Victory" was his work.
