Annotation:Oldham Rant
Back to Oldham Rant
OLDHAM RANT. AKA and see "Trip to Birey." English, Rant or Reel. England; North-West. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is used for a polka step dance in the North-West (England) morris tradition. The 'B' part is similar to "Shepherd's Hey." The tune is contained in the 19th century Joseph Kershaw Manuscript. Kershaw was a fiddle player who lived in the remote area of Slackcote, Saddleworth, North West England, who compiled his manuscript from 1820 onwards, according to Jamie Knowles. Oldham is a town seven miles northeast of Manchester, England, now absorbed by the urban sprawl of the city. It is a manufacturing center and lies in a coal-mining region.
A 'rant' denotes a fast, lively, often rather simple dance tune, often in 2/4 time in English use.
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Knowles (The Joseph Kershaw Manuscript), 1993; No. 46. Knowles (Northern Frisk), 1988; No. 105. Wade (Mally's North West Morris Book), 1988; p. 26.
Recorded sources: EFDSS CD13, Nic and Mary Barber - "Hardcore English" (2007. Various artists).