Annotation:Loath to Depart (2)

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LOATH TO DEPART [2]. English, Air (6/4 time). G Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABCD. A 'loath to depart' was the term employed for a song or a tune played when saying farewell to friends or at leave-taking, notes William Chappell (1859). One of the 'loath to departs' he prints is from a volume called Deuteromelia (1609), where it is set as a round for four voices. The words of the Deuteromelia tune go (each line goes to one part of the canon):

Sing with they mouth sign with they heart,
Like faithfull friends sing loath to depart;
Though friends together may not always remain, yet
Loath to depart sing one again.

Source for notated version: Duteromelia (1609) [Chappell].

Printed sources: Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Times), vol. 1, 1859; p. 102.

Recorded sources:

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