Morris Music

After their beauty, the chief characteristic of Morris Tunes is their durability. We know that most have been danced to for at least a century, and many are very much older. They have a variety of sources - including popular tunes of the day which happened to appeal to Morris musicians, and regimental marches. Traditional sides would 'borrow' tunes from one another, often making subtle changes to both tune and title. For instance, the tune 'Black Joke' which the men from Adderbury in Oxfordshire used to dance to appeared in printed form as long ago as 1715; Greensleeves perform a hand-clapping dance collected a few miles from Adderbury at Bucknell, which has a very similar tune called 'Old Black Joe'.

You may also see Greensleeves dance to the tune 'Country Gardens'. Originally collected in a Cotswold village, this has since enjoyed a new wave of popularity, and is even heard in an orchestral setting - demonstrating the resilience of Morris music! Despite rumours to the contrary, Vaughn-Williams did not write this tune!

Of the instruments played for the Morris, the most venerable are the pipe and tabor, also known as the 'whittle and dub'. the pipe was formerly of wood but is nowadays of metal, and is played with one hand whilst the other beats out the rhythm for the dancers on a small side drum called a tabor. Traditional sides also danced to fiddles and concertinas, however, and from time to time all of these instruments - plus the accordion and melodeon - can be heard accompanying Greensleeves.

Greensleeves Musicians at the Band Stand in the Winter Gardens at Great Malvern, Worcestershire, August 1997.