Money Musk ~ Contra 32bars

Money Musk ~ Contra 24bars Money Musk ~ Contra 24 Improper Money Musk ~ Contra 32bars Money Musk ~ ECD Monymusk

Money Musk ~ Contra 32bars is an American Country Dance. It was devised by Werner/Preston in 1785. It was interpreted by Thomas Hillgrove in 1857 and published in The Scholar's Companion and Ball-Room Vade-Mecum. Found in Cracking Chestnuts. It is a proper Triple Minor dance. The minor set lasts 32 bars.

Monymusk is an estate in Aberdeenshire in Scotland.

Cracking Chestnuts says the tune was written by Daniel Dow and published in Thirty Seven New Reels and Strathspeys in 1776. Francis Werner set figures to the tune in his 8 Cotillions, 6 Favorite Contry Dances and two Minuets, with their proper Figures for the Harp, Harpsichord and Violin Book xvii for the year 1785. John Preston in 1786 published a different set of figures in 1786 and his version of the dance appears to be the basis of the Scottish Country Dance `Monymusk'.

This version can found found in Thomas Hillgrove's The Scholar's Companion and Ball-Room Vade-Mecum. His instructions are:

First couple give the right hand and swing once and a half round; then go below one and forward and back six; right hand to partner, and swing three quarters round; forward and back six; swing to place, and right and left four.

(Hillgrove appears to use the word "swing" where I would use "allemande", not the modern partner swing.)

The tune was originally a 32 bar strathspey but has somehow become a 24 bar reel.

Werner Book XVIII For the Year 1785 (London, 1785) writes:

Turn your partner with the right hand; quite round, and cast off one Cu. Turn with the left quite round, Set three and three top and bottom, and turn your Partner, Set three and three sideways and turn your Partner. Hands six quite round and back again Lead out sides and turn your Partner with both hands.

John Griffiths in The Gentleman & Lady's Companion (Norwich, CT, 1798) has a different figure:

Six hands half way round and back, first and second gentlemen balance together and turn round, the 1st and 2nd ladies do the same, down the middle, up again, cast off, right and left

Saltator writes:

First couple cross over, down the out side, promenade round the gentleman, fall between the second couple, the lady between the third, six dance address, first couple promenade and fall below the second, six demicircinate, right and left atop.

The animation plays at 120 counts per minute normally, but the first time through the set the dance will often be slowed down so people can learn the moves more readily. Men are drawn as rectangles, women as ellipses. Each couple is drawn in its own color, however the border of each dancer indicates what role they currently play so the border color may change each time through the minor set.

An online description of the dance may be found here.

A11-81s right hand turn once and a half spiraling into 2nd place as 2s move up
A21-4Lines of three take hands forward and back
5-81s right turn three quarters ending M1 between 2s facing down, W1 between 3s facing up
B11-4Lines of three take hands forward and back
5-81s right turn three quarters ending 2nd place proper
B21-81s+2s right and left four

If you find what you believe to be a mistake in this animation, please leave a comment on youtube explaining what you believe to be wrong. If I agree with you I shall do my best to fix it.

If you wish to link to this animation please see my comments on the perils of youtube. You may freely link to this page, of course, and that should have no problems, but use one of my redirects when linking to the youtube video itself:
https://www.upadouble.info/redirect.php?id=MoneyMuskContra32

< Prev Top Next >

The dance itself is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. The interpretation is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. My visualization of this dance is copyright © 2020 by George W. Williams V and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This website is copyright © 2021,2022,2023,2024 by George W. Williams V
Creative Commons License My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Most of the dances have more restrictive licensing, see my notes on copyright, the individual dance pages should mention when some rights are waived.