Aye Me, or The Simphony

Описание: [Be sure to read Philippe's brief essay appended as a comment to the video--pbr]
Aye Me, or The Simphony, a 4-couple, longways set dance that initially appeared in Playford’s English Dancing Master of 1651, saw its first modern reconstruction by Cecil Sharp in Book 4 of Sharp’s Country Dance Book series. Now we have a new interpretation by renowned choreographer and dance leader Philippe Callens, introduced at the 2018 New London Assembly and performed by Philippe and a select group of dancers as part of a Salon lecture and demonstration that he presented with world-class recorder player Tom Beets of the Flanders Recorder Quartet.

The lecture explored the cross-cultural connections in dance and music between Flanders and England, focusing in part on the several tunes that appeared in various editions of the Dancing Master and in Der Fluyten Lusthof of 1644 – c. 1652. Aye Me, or The Simphony appears in volumes 1 – 8 of the Dancing Master. The same tune appears as Tweede Carileen I in the Flanders publication.

The dance comprises three familiar introductions—leading, siding, and arming—ornamented slightly in this version, each being followed by a different figure. In keeping with the sensibilities of the late 17th century, there is a refined symmetry among the moves performed by the top and bottom two couples in the set. The dancers worked hard to achieve that symmetry with careful ensemble dancing, which they polished in a mere two days of practice. The ending seen here is purely theatrical and unrelated to the dance’s written choreography.

The tune is quite sprightly, and as you’ll hear, wonderfully performed by Amherst Early Music Festival faculty members Tom Beets and Emily O’Brien, recorders, and Carol Marsh, viola da gamba. –Paul Ross