Sheet Music: Merrily Danced the Quaker

TitleMerrily Danced the Quaker
Alternate titlesMerrily Kiss the Quaker's Wife
Humors of Last Night
Blithe Have I Been
Wilke's Wrigle
ComposerTraditional Scottish
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyG major
RangeD4–G5
Time signature6/8
Tempo92 BPM
Performance time0:35
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (46 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (268 kB)
Date added2018-02-22
Last updated2018-02-22
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 0.2 (relatively unpopular)
Categories
Celtic Music, Jigs, Traditional/Folk

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Thursday 22 February 2018

Tune of the Day: Merrily Danced the Quaker

Traditional Scottish jig

The earliest known appearance of this melody in print is in Rutherford's Choice Collection of Sixty of the Most Celebrated Country Dances, which was published in London in 1750. However, the tune is probably much older; some sources even trace it back to 14th-century plain chant. Other sources think that “Merrily Danced” was either derived from “The Mill Oh”, or that both tunes share a common origin.

The melody was well-known in America at the time of the War for Independence, where it was employed as both a quick march and dance tune.