Taking yet another meander through M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing (Portland, Maine, 1890), here's an extremely simple polka variation from Constantine Carpenter and Charles Martel, the same Philadelphia-based pair responsible for The Latest York. The Hornpipe Polka itself is trivial, but it was composed to a very popular piece of music to which it is extremely well-matched and of which numerous early recordings survive. Edited 12/31/21: Interestingly, it does not seem to have impressed G. W. Lopp, who did not include it in his La Danse (Paris, 1903), which incorporated translations of almost everything in Gilbert. G. W. Lopp leaned on the historical connection between sailors and hornpipes by listing it in La Danse (Paris, 1903) as Le Matelot Polka (Horn Pipe Polka), credited to C. Carpentier (sic), which I unaccountably missed when I first wrote this post. "Matelot" is French for sailor. Other than the name, Lopp's description is identical to Gilbert's.
The variation itself is quite short. The starting position is "military" position, opened up side by side (the gentleman's right hand on the lady's waist and her left hand resting on his shoulder or upper arm) as discussed and pictured here. "First foot" below refers to the normal starting foot -- the gentleman's left and the lady's right; second is the opposite.
Hornpipe Polka (four measures of 2/4 time)
2b Polka forward twice, starting on first foot, then second.
(take closed hold)
1b Galop, starting with first foot, making a half turn
1b Polka, starting with second foot, completing the full turn
(open up side by side and restart from the beginning)
For proper performance, it's really necessary to distinguish between a polka step and a galop step, which tend to get blurred together in modern-day practice. The polka step is (hop) slide-cut-leap (&1&2). The galop step is slide-close-slide (1&2). Dancers will be very tempted to tone the polka down into a galop and to hop at the beginning of the actual galop, losing the distinction between the steps.
Those in search of variations might reasonably reverse the turn on the third and fourth bars, or without too much difficulty back either the lady or the gentleman. But there's just not enough going on in the Hornpipe Polka to support a lot of improvisation.
Music
This is a variation for which we have a specific tune: Frank J. Smith's "The Hornpipe Polka". I'm reasonably certain that the tune preceded the dance and that Carpenter and Martel saw a commercial opportunity in setting a dance to it. And it's easy to see why they composed such a short one. The sixteen-bar strain after the introduction consists of very marked four-bar segments with which a short variation fits very naturally. The third strain and coda are essentially the same. These strains have a staccato feel to them that to me fits very naturally with the more technical polka steps ((hop)slide-cut-leap) rather than the more casual modern style.
The earliest surviving recording of "The Hornpipe Polka" also happens to be the earliest surviving recording of the United States Marine Corps Band, from a Columbia Phonograph Company cylinder probably recorded in 1889. It was included on a CD celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Marine Corps Band in 1998, and may be heard here. Extensive liner notes (PDF) for the CD with the note about the cylinder are here. This recording is at 130 beats per minute, which is great for a marching or concert band but considerably faster than Gilbert's suggested polka tempo of 116.
A list of seven other recordings from 1900 to 1907 may be found at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. Two of them, from 1901 and 1902, are available at the National Jukebox at the Library of Congress. The first, with piccolo (played by George Schweinfest) and piano, is a much more danceable 111 beats per minute. The second one has the same instrumentation (and piccolo player!) and is at about 120. All three of these early recordings are quite scratchy and wouldn't be very pleasant to dance to.
Finally, here is a ragtime-styled version played by a modern pianist. I wouldn't use it for a nineteenth-century ball, but it's very good listening.
Surviving sheet music for "The Hornpipe Polka" from 1888 may be found at the University of Maine's Parlor Salon Collection of sheet music, and an undated version is online at Duke University's Digital Collections.
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I still haven't researched Carpenter in detail, but he seems to have had an eclectic career as a dance teacher, theatrical composer, and conductor of balls, as well as setting a record for the longest waltz (sixteen and a half hours!) Here's a quick list of some of the easily-available references to his career from 1874 to 1895:
1874: He conducted a "floral soiree" in Delaware, complete with "the music of canary birds" and dancing until late:
A PLEASANT ENTERTAINMENT AT RIDLEY PARK - A gay assemblage of both sexes met at the new hotel at Ridley Park on Tuesday evening last, on the occasion of Constantine Carpenter’s floral soiree. A special train from Philadelphia brought one hundred and fifty ladies and gentlemen, who were accompanied by excellent music. The arrival of the company at the Park was announced by a display of fireworks and the party was welcomed by the music of the Morton Band. The avenues leading to the house, the handsome railroad station, and the hotel and its surroundings were brilliantly illuminated with Chinese lanterns, giving the whole place the appearance of a fairy grotto. The rooms were tastefully decorated with flowers and flags and the music of canary birds was prominent. Dancing commenced at a reasonable hour, and was continued, almost without intermission, until the small hours of the morning. The arrangements were in admirable hands, and the success of the entertainment has established Ridley Park as the only place for quiet, uninterrupted social enjoyment within a reasonable distance of Philadelphia.
-- Delaware County Republican, May 7, 1874 (cited at Ridley Township History)
1876: the opening of his autumn "academies" was advertised dozens of times in The New Century for Woman:
1877: a receipt for dance tuition in the Hare-Willing Family Papers
1879: he published a book of quadrille calls in which the address of his academy was given as the northwest corner of Thirteenth and Chestnut Streets, the famous Wanamaker Building.
1879-1880: he copyrighted an "opera, comedy, and burlesque", The Merry Belles of the Kitchen, as recorded here.
1881: a sixteen-and-a-half-hour waltz marathon at Carpenter's Academy, now at its Chestnut Street location, as cited on Philadelphia History, here):
February 2. Waltzing against time by Julian and Constantine Carpenter, at Carpenter's Dancing Hall, Thirteenth and Chestnut Streets, who waltzed for sixteen and a half hours without stopping. "The best time on record."
1887: Carpenter and Martel served as directors of dancing at The Mansion in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
THE MANSION, ATLANTIC CITY, N. J. Tho largest and most conveniently located hotel. Clean, comfortable and homelike. Elegantly furnished and liberally managed; complete sanitary arrangements. Modern conveniences. Coach to and from the beach and trains. Brophy’s Orchestra. Professors Constantine Carpenter and Charles Martell, Directors of dancing and amusements.
-- Philadelphia Times, Tuesday, August 16, 1887
1890: Gilbert gave Carpenter's address in his index of contributors as 1219 Chestnut Street, half a block away from the Thirteenth and Chestnut address
1891: Carpenter directed a children's performance at the carnival of the Bon Bons at The Mansion, as cited in the Philadelphia Inquirer on July 19, 1891 (image courtesy of Newspapers.com):
1895: Carpenter and a different partner, W. S. Moore, had a good reputation as ball-conductors:
St, George’s Hall has of late been unusually well patronized by the dancing public, partly owing, no doubt, to the addition made to the orchestra, which was increased some time ago to six pieces, including drums. The Saturday evening parties are attended by many of the best dancers In the city, as lovers of the art know that a pleasant time can always be had at any event conducted by Professors Constantine Carpenter and W. S. Moore.
-- Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, October 27, 1895
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