This is the first in a series of posts on tunes in this collection (available in facsimile on IMSLP):
OLD ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCES GATHERED FROM SCARCE PRINTED COLLECTIONS, AND FROM MANUSCRIPTS, Collected and Edited by FRANK KIDSON. LONDON: WlLI.IAM REEVES, 1890.
According to Kidson's endnotes, "Ge Ho, Dobbin" was a very popular tune, to which many humorous (and probably some bawdy) lyrics were set. It was first published in the mid-18th century. The design is three-part: an A-B binary design, plus a single phrase refrain.
The emphasis on ^5 and its upper neighbor in the A-section sets the stage for a converging cadence (not marked: from F#5 above and from B4 below). In the B-section, the hint of a sequence that might rise is squelched by a firmly descending line, where the 5/3, 4/2, 3/1 pattern is present but the final ^3 is almost entirely suppressed under the octave Ds. The refrain, however, takes up the sequence and pushes it up vigorously to ^8, undoubtedly a rousing finish that encouraged laughter among the audience--and maybe a stray "hurrah" or two.
According to Kidson's endnotes, "Ge Ho, Dobbin" was a very popular tune, to which many humorous (and probably some bawdy) lyrics were set. It was first published in the mid-18th century. The design is three-part: an A-B binary design, plus a single phrase refrain.
