Kenneth Hesketh

Danceries (Set II)

This second set of Danceries continues the format established in Danceries (Set I), namely in using material taken from Playford's Dancing Master, a collection of folk and popular tunes published in the seventeenth century, to form the basis of an extended dance suite. In this set, the melodies are more abstract and project only a distant echo of their original forms, but as before, each movement is self-contained, colorful and direct, with its own distinct mood. The outer movements - 'Jennie's Bawbee' and 'Peascod's Galliarda' - share a use of driving percussion writing with a military air. 'Tom Tinker's Toye' and 'Heart's Ease' (movements two and three) are both settings of original melodies. All movements are more extended than in the first set, with a freer use and approach to the material; melodies now occur in various keys and are supported by a greater variety of harmonic coloring. The result is a richer, even more exhilarating set of dances. Danceries has come of age! Arranged for wind band.