Hornpipe

The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 17th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England and refer to Lancashire hornpipes in 1609 and 1613.

It is suggested that hornpipe as a dance began around the 16th century on English sailing vessels. However, this is urban myth, as the dance does not seem to have become associated with sailors until after 1740 when the dancer Yates performed 'a hornpipe in the character of a Jack Tar' at Drury Lane Theatre, after which, in 1741 at Covent Garden we hear of 'a hornpipe by a gentleman in the character of a sailor.'. Movements were those familiar to sailors of that time: "looking out to sea" with the right hand to the forehead, then the left, lurching as in heavy weather, and giving the occasional rhythmic tug to their breeches both fore and aft.

Folk hornpipes

The hornpipe is an Irish, Scottish and English dance. It is done in hard shoes, which are used to help keep track of how the dancer keeps in time. There are two variations of the hornpipe dance: fast and slow. Usually, more experienced dancers will do the slow hornpipe but younger dancers will start out with the fast hornpipe and then switch in later years. There is a change of tempo in the music but not the dancing between these two speeds. The only difference in the dancing between the fast and slow steps are the dances that the competitor does and the rhythm/sound of how they move their legs. The rhythm for both fast and slow hornpipes is very even and should be executed that way by the dancer.

The Modification and Instrumentation of a Famous Hornpipe as a Merry and Altogether Sincere Homage to Uncle Alfred

The Modification and Instrumentation of a Famous Hornpipe as a Merry and Altogether Sincere Homage to Uncle Alfred, sometimes also shortened as Hornpipe, is an arrangement for six players of Henry Purcell's Hornpipe, from The Fairy-Queen, by Italian composer Luciano Berio. This arrangement was composed in 1969.

Composition

Luciano Berio was already known not only as an avant-garde composer, but also as an arranger, of his own music as well as of others. This composition was specifically composed for the celebration of the eightieth birthday of Alfred Kalmus, the then-director of the London branch of Universal Edition, Berio's main publishing house. This composition ended up being the fifth in a series of compositions by eleven different composers, including Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Harrison Birtwhistle. The whole series of compositions was entitled A Garland for Dr. K. The whole set of works were premiered as a group by the Pierrot Players on 22 April 1969, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre, London. The Hornpipe was later published by Universal Edition.

Hornpipe (instrument)

The hornpipe can refer to a specific instrument or a class of woodwind instruments consisting of a single reed, a small diameter melody pipe with finger holes and a bell traditionally made from animal horn. Additionally, a reed cap of animal horn may be placed around the reed to contain the breath and allow circular breathing for constant play, although in many cases the reed is placed directly in the mouth. It was also known as the pibcorn, pibgorn, or piccorn. One rare Scottish example, called the stock-and-horn, is referred to by Robert Burns among others. Other hornpipes include the Spanish gaita gastoreña, the Basque alboka and the Eastern European zhaleika. When joined with a bag, Baines refers to the instruments as "bag-hornpipes".

Construction

The traditional hornpipe has one or two narrow internal bores between 4 mm and 12 mm each, with one or two idioglot single-reeds respectively, similar to the bagpipe drone reed, which is sometimes surrounded by a cap made of horn or wood which is sealed with the players lips. The melody pipe(s) can have between 5 (pentatonic) and 8 finger holes (one of which may be a thumb hole) giving a first register range of up to an octave plus a note. The bell is shaped from a section of horn, wood or sometimes rolled bark, and may have tuning holes or decorative work. This class of instrument comprises the ancient predecessors to our modern cylindrically bored reed instruments, such as the clarinet.