Annotation:Lancers (1) (The)

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LANCERS [1], THE (Cuadraill na Lancers). AKA - "The Lancers Quadrille." Scottish, Irish; Dance Tune (4/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. This tune is actually a portion of the same set as Trim's "Graces (Les)" in the "Lancers Quadrilles." The Lancers Set in Ireland derived from the Lancers Quadrille, a ballroom dance popularized on the Continent in Napoleonic times. In Ireland, the figures were originally danced to polkas (Small/Breathnach included the tune in their polka section), but nowadays the vehicles are more commonly reels. It is a popular tune and dance in County Donegal. The first figure of the Clare Lancers set can be seen in John Huston's modern cinematic version of James Joyce's The Dead (c.1990). Descriptions of the dance can be found in Irish Dancing (Collins Pocket Reference, p. 108 ff.), Toss the Feathers (Pat Murphy, p. 90 ff) and Set Dances of Ireland (Larry Lynch, p. 57 ff).

Source for notated version: a music manuscript written by Dan Sheahan (County Kerry), probably copied from a printed source, Small believes [Breathnach].

Printed sources: Breathnach (CRÉ V), 1999; No. 105, p. 52. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3; No. 385, p. 42.

Recorded sources: Gael Linn CEFCD 103, Frankie Gavin - "Croch Suas E/Up and Away" (appears as "McLaughlin's Flings," probably a reference to Donegal-trained fiddler Dermot McLaughlin, says Small).

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