Annotation:Llanover Reel
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LLANOVER REEL. Welsh, Reel. B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Mellor finds the tune a derivative of "Jones Hornpipe." There is also a dance called the Llanover Reel, that was revived on St. David's Day in 1918 by Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Williams with the children of the Llanover school. The revived dance was based on the recollections of Lord Treowen, Mrs. Gruffydd Richards, and others "who used to perform the dance to the music of the Welsh Harp at the Llys, Llanover, in the days of Lady Llanover, 30 years previously. The dances were first published in 1933 by W.S. Gwynn Williams in his Welsh National Music and Dance..." [1]
Lady Llanover, Augusta Waddington (1802-1896), of Llanover Hall (near Abergavenny), referred to above, was renowned in Wales for her dedication to Welsh culture, which she came to as a non-native, the wife of a prominent citizen. She was a folklorist, and the patron of many Welsh poets and musicians, and also supported the culture by organizing festivals, holding dances in her home, and cataloging traditional costumes. She even went so far as to insist that her employees spoke Welsh. Lady Llanover was also famous for her temperence enthusiasm, and bought up public houses to turn into coffee-houses.
Source for notated version: Mrs. Gyfydd Richards, 1926 [Mellor].
Printed sources: Mellor (Welsh Dance Tunes), 1935; pp. 2-3.
Recorded sources:
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