June 2024- "Portsmouth"

This month’s tab is an arrangement of the traditional English country dance tune “Portsmouth”. First published in the 11th edition of John Playford’s “The English Dancing Master” in 1701, its name is in honor of the town of Portsmouth situated on the southern coast of England along the English Channel. Over 350 dances were published in the combined editions of Playford’s books, each of which included detailed instructions for each dance's steps, along with the melody line of the tune to be used for that particular dance.

English country dancing originated during the Renaissance and remained popular in England up through the 19th century. The tune “Portsmouth” enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 1940’s when Ralph Vaughan Williams used it as the basis for the second movement of his orchestral composition “English Folk Song Suite”. Today it remains a popular tune among old-time musicians and in contra dance circles.

Here’s a link to a YouTube video of the tune being performed by The Broadside Band, a British dance band from Badminton, England.

Enjoy!

In music and friendship,

—Tull

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