Continuing my mini-series of Regency(ish)-era figure reconstruction...
The figures that appeared with "Mutual Love" (and a couple of other tunes) are a good example of tune/figure interchangeability -- specifically, of figures being reused with multiple pieces of music. The other half of that interchangeability is tunes being recycled for different figures. For that, I'm going to move on to the figures that appeared with "Wakefield Hunt'. And the other figures that appeared with "Wakefield Hunt". Yes, two figures, both alike in dignity (but completely different otherwise), in the fair 1770s and 1780s, where we lay our scene. Two is actually a very small number; very popular tunes didn't go out of style and might be found with a dozen or more different figures over the years.
Here's the original language of one figure, which I'll call the A figure:
Whole figure down and up again on your own sides [A1] cast off two Cu: and lead up 2d. & 3d. Cus. follow [A2] cross over two Cu: [B1] lead up to the top & cast off [B2] lead to the Wall 3 and return [C1] hands six round [C2]
The bracketed letter/number combinations are replacements for the strain markers that I don't have a suitable set of symbols for. The music consists of three eight-bar strains, which for convenience I will call A, B, and C. The repeat structure given with the figures is AABBCC for forty-eight bars total.
Once again, a review of the many meanings of the term "figure" may help make more sense of the terminology here.
Here's the original language of the other, which I'll call the B figure, which uses the same repeat structure for the tune:
The 1st Gent cast off & turn the 3d Lady [A1] 1st Lady cast off & turn the 3d Gent [A2] hands 6 round [B1] Lead thro’ the bottom & cast up lead thro’ the top & cast off [B2] hands 4 across at bottom quite round right & left at top [C1 & C2]
There are four appearances of the tune "Wakefield Hunt" in Robert Keller's Dance Figures Index, English Country Dances 1651-1827. The two from one publishing house have the A figure, and the two from the other publishing house have the B figure.
- The A figure is in Bride's Favorite Collection of Two Hundred Select Country Dances (c1775) and Longman and Broderip's Compleat Collection of 200 Favorite Country Dances (c1781). Bride's was published by Longman, Lukey, and Broderip, predecessor of Longman & Broderip.
- The B figure is in [Thompson's] Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1779 and Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Fashionable Country Dances. Vol. 4 (c1780). The latter is an omnibus collecting several years worth of the Twenty Four series and other dances.
This isn't a case of two dances called "Wakefield Hunt". It's probably a case of one publisher cribbing a good jig from another and using a different set of figures for whatever reason (random chance comes to mind). It can't be an inherent dislike of the figures, since in the same omnibus Thompson collection, the A figure appears with a different jig called "The Seven Stars". (Facsimiles of "Wakefield Hunt" with both the A and B figures and "Seven Stars" with the A figure are at the bottom of this post for reference.)
Neither is inherently better or more authentic than the other, so there's no way to choose between them other than personal taste. I personally like the A figure, but the B figure is the one that was adapted for modern purposes. If neither are to your taste but you like the music, you could always use different figures entirely, including altering it to a twenty-four bar structure played ABC. Or if the music isn't pleasing, set the figures to a different three-part tune -- "The Seven Stars" or some other that suits better.
As is typical for this era, both the figures are triple minors, meaning three couples are needed to perform them, though the dancers must make do with only two at the bottom of the set. Also typical is that the active couple has much more to do than the other two couples, particularly in the A figure.
As before, I'm presuming a general knowledge of country dance figures and historical progression and therefore not explaining commonly used terms. If clarification is needed, ask in the comments.
Reconstruction of the A figure
8b Active couple "figure eight" down own sides around second and third couples.
8b Active couple cast off two couples, second and third couples following, and lead back up to places
8b Active couple cross over two couples
8b Active couple lead up to the top and cast off (second couple moves up)
8b All six lead out to wall and return (see notes for three options)
8b Hands six quite round
Performance Notes
In general, for a dance of this era, I look backward to Dukes (1752) and "A. D." (1764) for details of the figures, rather than forward to the writers of the Regency era.
1. The "figure eight" starts by moving inside the set, then outward between the second and third dancer on each side, looping around the third dancer and back up inside, then outward between the second and third dancers again back to places. Dancers would not have taken hands with their partner, merely moved in parallel.
2. When part of a larger figure like this, casting off does not use the casting step and sideways steps fashionable for the figure on its own. Dancers move straight forward throughout. The couples do take hands while moving upward.
3. The active couples passes right shoulders, loops down around the second couple, passes again, and loops around the third couple, ending proper at the bottom of the set.
4. To lead up and cast off, the couple takes near hands and moves straight forward up the set, then separates and loops around the second couple, still moving straight forward. Again, casting off as part of a larger figure does not use the more modern casting off step sequence.
5. "Lead to the wall 3" in the original instructions means that all three couples in the minor set perform the move. "A. D." gives three possibilities for this figure: (1) the ladies and gentlemen turn away from each other, take hands, and each line moves outward toward facing walls, then they turn and come back; (2) the ladies turn but the gentlemen do not, so all dancers move toward a single wall then turn and come back to places, the gentlemen turning at the end to face partners; (3) the same as (2), but the gentlemen turn and the ladies do not, so all the dancers move toward the other wall, and on their return the ladies turn to face partners. I find (2) and (3) more interesting, but which version to use is up to the person calling the dance.
6. Hands six round is what the instructions call for, not hands six half round and back. The latter would be a perfectly correct period figure and in my opinion is more fun to dance.
Reconstruction of the B figure
2b Active gentleman casts off...
2b ...and moves sideways down the set to second place, second gentleman moving up
4b Active gentleman turns third lady by both hands (clockwise)
8b Active lady casts off, move sideways down to second place, second lady moving up, and turns the third gentleman by both hands (clockwise)
8b Hands six round
8b Active couple “figure eight” along their own lines, starting down between third couple
8b Active couple and third (bottom) couple right hands across quite round, slowly
8b Active couple and second (top) couple, right and left with hands all the way round
Performance notes
1. Casting off as a solo figure would be done using a casting step to turn completely around, moving behind the line of dancers, then sideways steps to move to the second place. I've previously discussed this in some detail.
2. As noted above, hands six round in one direction is what the instructions call for, but hands six half round and back is an equally valid figure for this era, and more fun to dance.
3. This the move used for the progression in the figures that appear with "Mutual Love", but here it is done in the more usual way, starting and ending in the second position. It is one long, looping figure, not a series of lead-throughs and casting-offs. Dancers take near hands when passing inside the set in parallel with their partner. Second and third couples stand still. Note that this is different from the "whole figure" in the A figure not only in its starting position but in the taking and dropping of hands by the active dancers.
4. Right hands across is the modern "right hand star" or quadrille moulinet figure. The instructions say only "hands 4 across at bottom quite round", even though a full eight bars of music is given. Take right hands with the person diagonally opposite, forming a cross, and go around slowly with very small steps. Right hands across/left hands back is also a perfectly authentic figure for this era.
5. Right and left with hands is essentially a grand chain for four dancers, starting with right hands to partners. Eight measures is plenty of time for four changes.
Steps
I'm not going to give a full overview of country dance stepping, but here are some easy suggested steps for these figures:
For all the long, curvy figures with the dancers moving forward (figure eights, lead-through/cast-off sequences, the three couple cast off/lead up, crossing over two couples), seven chassé, step, assemblé. Because these figures are from the 1770s I would use a step to third or fifth position rather than a jeté in the concluding bar.
The same seven chassé, step, assemblé sequence works for the hands across quite round, but must be danced with very tiny steps.
For hands six round, a sideways series of seven chained chassé, step, assemblé, done twice, or a longer sequence of fourteen chained chassé, step, assemblé. I don't find the latter all that pleasant to dance, so I'd be inclined to break it at the half-round point. If going half round and back, use the former sequence. If doing hands quite round in Regency context, switch to seven chassé, step, assemblé with the dancers' bodies turned to move forward rather than sideways.
For leading to the wall, three chassé, step, assemblé in each direction.
For right and left, three chassé, step, assemblé twice; you do the step, assemblé as you meet your partner at the halfway point.
For turning another dancer, three chassé, step, assemblé.
For the simple cast off to second place in the B figure, a casting step (2b) and one chassé, step, assemblé sideways (2b) to second place. What to use for a casting step requires more discussion than I want to go into here, but a functional sequence is that same one chassé, step, assemblé turning outward and around.
Should these figures be danced at your event?
Well, they date from the 1770s and very early 1780s, which is three decades before the actual Regency (1810-1820) and barely qualifies as during Jane Austen's lifetime (1775-1817); they are certainly not from her dancing or writing days.
The A figure has two figures in it that are rather old-fashioned even for its era: the collective casting off by all three couples and the lead to the wall. I might use it at an Austen-themed event but would not use it for a strictly-defined (1810s) Regency ball.
The B figure is fairly reasonable for this entire period, other than being led by the first gentleman rather than the first lady, as it would have been in the Regency era. The over-generous amount of time for the right and left and the right hands across are also oddities in a Regency context. I'd leave it as is if I decided to use it for an Austen-themed event, but I would swap the order of the genders leading and change the right hands across to a right hands across/left hands back if I wanted to do it at a ball set in the 1810s.
More radically, for hyper-correctness for the strictly-defined Regency era, one could change it to a 40-bar figure with only one repeat of the C music and do both the final figures in four bars each, as shown in Thomas Wilson's various manuals. That would improve the figures, but at the cost of creating a real oddity in the music. I wouldn't do that myself.
If your event is set in the 1770s, these figures are obviously perfect.
Modern versions
There is at least one modern adaptation of the B figure, credited to Tom Cook, which alters some of the figures and at least in some versions creates a double progression for a three-couple set. There are several videos on YouTube of dancers doing the modern adaptation of the dance.
Music
A beautiful recording three times through (perfect for a three-couple set, though needing to be looped for a longer one) is on The Pride & Prejudice Collection Vol. III, which is available from The Country Dance and Song Society in the USA and from Fain Music in the UK as a CD or a download. There is also a recording on the Assembly Players' CD Dance and Danceability with seven repeats, meaning that music editing is a must. I am less fond of this CD because it relies heavily on accordion, which is not a period instrument for this era. Other recordings are also available with a little searching.
For musicians: the sheet music for "Wakefield Hunt" is in The Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes, or is available from Fain Music as part of their package deal with The Pride & Prejudice Collection Vol. III.
Facsimiles from the original tune books
The three images below of tunes with the figures discussed here are:
- "Wakefield Hunt", from Longman and Broderip's Compleat Collection of 200 Favorite Country Dances (c1781) (with the A figure)
- "Wakefield Hunt", from Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Fashionable Country Dances. Vol. 4 (c1780) (with the B figure)
- "The Seven Stars" from Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Fashionable Country Dances. Vol. 4 (c1780) (with the A figure)
Click each image to enlarge it.
Comments