Annotation:Constant Lover (1) (The)

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CONSTANT LOVER [1], THE. AKA - "Faithful Swain (The)." English, Country Dance Tune (cut time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Published by John Walsh (Sr.) in London in 1710 in his New Country Dancing Master, 2nd Book. It is one of the 120 compositions of dancing master Nathaniel Kynaston (1683-1757) that Walsh printed in several volumes. Although very little is known about him, Kynaston appears to have been active from 1705 to about 1722 in the Shropshire/Wales border area. Walsh published some 120 of Kynaston's tunes and dances over several publications. The Selattyn parish register in Shropshire records that a "Nathanial Kynaston, gent., & Mrs. Elizabeth Davies, both of Oswestry" married on August 25th, 1719-although whether this was the dancing master is unknown. Kynaston appears to have been a not uncommon name in Shropshire, and the family includes Sir Humphrey Kynaston, a notorious 16th century highwayman and Robin Hood figure, who preyed on the wool merchants of Shrewsbury. "The Constant Lover" also appears in Walsh's Second Book of the Compleat Country Dancing Master (London, 1719), and John Young's second volume of the Dancing Master beginning in 1710 and in subsequent editions until the last of the series, issued in 1728. There are other 18th century tunes, musically unrelated, that share the title, including "Constant Lover (2) (The), which also appears in the Dancing Master, albeit in the third volume of 1726.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; p. 22. Young (Second Volume of the Dancing Master), 1710; No. 181.

Recorded sources:

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