Lady Harriet Hope's Reel ~ RSCDS

Lady Harriet Hope's Reel ~ Williams Lady Harriet Hope's Reel ~ RSCDS

In his A Companion to the Ball Room, 1816, Thomas Wilson published Lady Harriet Hope's Reel:, wherein he writes:

SINGLE FIGURE (1^st. strain repeated 2^d. played straight thro')
Swing with right hands round 2^d. Cu: then with left lead thro the bottom & half poussette with top Cu:

OR THUS Set & hands across quite round with 2^d. Cu: set & back again lead down the mid: up again & right & left with top Cu:

DOUBLE FIGURE (Tune played twice thro' as marked)
Set ¿3? hands 6 round & back again whole figure at top lead down the middle up again set to top & whole figure contrary corners

The music consists of a four bar strain and an eight bar strain. The RSCDS has picked the third figure (the one marked "DOUBLE FIGURE") which means the music should be played AABAAB. "" indicates two repetitions of a of the first strain, and "" indicates one repetition of the second (each accounting for 8 bars of music).

Wilson defines most of his figures in his Analysis of Country Dancing, but he does not define what he means by set 3 hands 6 round & back again. It seems unlikely that he would have people do two bars of setting, then three bars circling left and three right; the RSCDS's suggestion of set, circle left half, set, circle right half seems better.

The RSCDS has changed the first figure eight into a reel of four, and made it progressive.

Wilson's lead down the middle up again takes only four bars, not the 6 given to it by the RSCDS and doesn't involve changing sides. Wilson's set should be for four bars, not two (he liked things in four bar chunks).

Wilson's whole figure contrary corners means half figure eight down around the 3s then half figure eight up around the 2s (see his description). The RSCDS has turned this into a finishing reel with a cross by the right.

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