The Female Saylor/Bobbing Joe

  1. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    This is a set of two English country dances in 6/8 time, using arrangements by David M. Brown.

    "The Female Saylor" was composed by French composer Marin Marais for his opera Alcyone (1706), as "Marche pour les Matelots", and was set to a dance by Raoul-Auger Feuillet in his Recueil de contredanses (1706). Feuillet's volume was reprinted in a translation by John Essex entitled For the Further Improvement of Dancing, published in London by the firm of Walsh & Randall in 1710, and entered English repertoire. See:

    https://tunearch.org/wiki/Female_Sailor_(The)

    "Bobbing Joe" is from the first (and every subsequent) edition of Playford's English Dancing Master in 1651. See:

    https://tunearch.org/wiki/Bobbing_Joe

    Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin
  2. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Very nice Martin, I like that low tone.
    And I thought I recognised the first tune, it’s under a different name:
    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...816&do=discuss

    Just to keep focused I thought I’d include the vid itself, same tune but the original French title, ‘Matelote’ (The Female Saylor).

    https://youtu.be/XwGlbfFVNaI
  3. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Two very fine videos!
  4. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, Simon and Christian.

    Yes, that's obviously the same tune. Evidently, tunes spread very quickly in those days around Europe, but authorship was a bit fuzzy. I'm reasonably confident on the Marin Marais attribution, based on the Tunearch annotations, although of course it's possible that he used folk motives for his opera score. Despite the annotation, the transcription itself on the Tunearch site says "Playford (1706)", which is definitely wrong as the tune is not in the 1706 edition of the Dancing Master.

    Martin
  5. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    A fine pairing of the two tunes, Martin. I really liked the descending triplets in the second one.
    Lively arrangement of your version, Simon, and fine playing.
  6. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Two very nice versions, Martin and Simon. I like the addition of some kind of drums too.
  7. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Thanks Frithjof, ok, I’ll add a drum or something soon... a shruti box might be fun too!
  8. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Two very nice versions! I've known this melody for ages, certainly pre-dating my interest in the mandolin or folk music. If only I could remember where I first heard it.
  9. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, John, Frithjof and Dennis. I'm also pretty sure I know "Female Saylor" under a different name, but it may just be odd phrases that sound familiar.

    John: I think that descending triplet phrase at the end of Bobbing Joe also appears in "Adieu Adieu (Willow Day)". Not sure if they are related or whether that's coincidental.

    Martin
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