Annotation:Off to Charleston Quadrille

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OFF TO CHARLESTOWN QUADRILLE. English, Quardrille. England, Dorset. "The Quadrille was a popular 19th Century square dance, with five figures which retained their names even when different music was used for the dance. Groves gives the names of the figures as: La pantalon, L'ete, La poule, La pastourelle (often replaced by La Trenis as here) and Finale. The musical selections would have been designed for trained rather than traditional musicians, and frequently use a higher range than would be comfortable for the average fiddler--in the MS there are passages written in parallel octaves (e.g. the Finale of this selection) where only the lower octave is given here" (Trim).

The five dance figures of "Off to Charleston Quadrille" were set to popular melodies from Ireland and the United States:

Figure 1) "Limerick Races" (Pantalon)- 6/8 time, F Major, AB.
"Johnny Sands" - 6/8 time, B Flat Major, One part
Figure 2) "Irish Emigrant (The)" (L'Ete)- 2/4 time, C Major, ABABA.
Figure 3) "Twas on a Sunday Morning" (La Poule)- 6/8 time, G Major, AB.
Sally Come Up - 6/8 time, C Major, C.
Figure 4) "I'm Leaving Thee in Sorrow Annie" (Trenise {La Trenis}) - 2/4 time, C Major, ABABA.
Figure 5) "I'm Off to Charlestown" (Finale)- 2/4 time, F Major, ABA.


The "Off to Charleston Quadrille" was mentioned in the May 17th, 1860, edition of the Shields Daily Gazette, Tyne and Wear, England, as being on the program of a military band's evening event.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Trim (The Musical Legacy of Thomas Hardy), 1990; No. 74.

Recorded sources:




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