Edinburgh Castle ~ Williams

There are at least two Playford dances named "Edinburgh Castle", one also named "Scotch Cap" the other also named "Albion's Queen".

Playford writes:

The 1. man cast off below the 2. man, and go the Hey with the 2. man and 2. wo. till the 1. man comes into the 2. man's place The 1. wo. cast off below the 2. wo. and do the like First cu. being in the 2. cu. place, the two men lead to the wall, and the two we. do the same at the same time, then the 1. cu. lead up and the 2. cu. lead down at the same time, then right-hands a-cross all four half round, and then left-hands and back again, till the 1. cu. comes into the 2. cu. place The rest do the like

Andrew Shaw points out that this choreography is used in Albion's Queen (Walsh, 1706, John Young, 1710).

John Young writes:

The first Man cast off below the 2d Man, and go the Hey with the 2d Man and 2d Woman, till the first Man comes into the 2d Man's Place Then the first Womon cast off below the 2d Woman and do the like The first Couple being in the second Couples Place, the two Men lead to the Wall, and the two Women do the some at the same Time; then the first Couple lead up, and the 2d Couple lead down at the same Time, then Right-hands a-cross all Four half round, and Left-hands back again, till the first Couple comes into the second Couples Place The rest do the like

The tune is a slip-jig with a 4 bar A and 8 bar B. Playford indicates two repetitions of A and one of B.

Squeezing a cast and full hey for three into 12 counts is challenging. In his interpretation, Andrew Shaw doesn't try and substitutes a gypsy instead.

Should the hey be done on the 1st corner diagonal (that is if M2 moves up when M1 casts), or in 2nd place across (if M2 stays put in the cast). Playford doesn't say that M2 moves up, but then he usually doesn't say that sort of thing. If the cast is simply the first change of a diagonal hey then cramming the whole thing into 12 counts is a little easier.

Hmm. I assumed that M1+M2 would start the hey. But why should they? If M2+W2 start it (on the diagonal) then M1, as the caboose of the hey, has plenty of time to make his cast before he needs to be active in the hey. That also gives us a right shoulder hey, which is more common and so more likely.

Is this what Playford intended? Who knows? It seems odd to have the 2s leading the hey, and W1 does not hey with the 2s as symmetry might suggest. On the other hand it fits the timing better than anything else I can thing of.

In the B section Playford doesn't mention that each lead out, up or down must be followed by a lead back, but they have to: you simply cannot take your partner's hand if you've both lead away toward your respective walls. In turn this means that the leads must be singles rather than doubles.