‘Hole in the Wall’ by Purcell!

Oh, be still, my beating heart! Yes, my dearest BJ lovers, Hole in the Wall, written by Henry Purcell in 1695 (published in 1698). I cannot thank you Michelle enough for tipping me the title of the dance song (the second ball in Lady Gresham’s manor) of Becoming Jane… for it is truly there. Ah… just to recall the dance scene where Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy gazed at each other’s deepest souls… I want to see the movie again now!

Apparently, Hole in the Wall (sometimes also called Hornpipe or St. Martin’s Lane) was not only used in the A&E Emma, but also in BBC's Wives and Daughters in a flashback scene between Mr. Preston and Cynthia. Hole in the Wall was so popular that it was issued as a single in the 18th century.

Here’s what the UK Traditional Music wrote about Purcell:

Purcell, Henry (1658-1695) an English court musician who has been called England’s greatest composer. He was familiar with the Playford family (and was first published by them) and so had access to a huge number of traditional tunes. Whether he did any borrowing of any of these is a good question, but if so, he wouldn’t have been the first to cop a good tune from the folk tradition. His fame in general today comes from the arrangement of the Rondo from "Abdelazer, or the Moor’s Revenge" into "The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra" by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). Aside from writing beautiful melodies in his various airs for the theater, his claim to fame in folk music is that the Hornpipe from "Abdelazer" was so popular that it was published as "Hole in the Wall", and then issued as a single in the 18th century! This lovely dance tune was renamed in the sheet music with the appealing title of "St Martin’s Lane". It later passed into the country dancing tradition via the Playford Dancing Master, still with the dreadful title of "Hole in the Wall", under which name it’s played today.

Despite the rather strange title, the particular piece of music really hits me! But then, Mr. Beveridge's Maggot also has a strange name, but it was lovely as well… Oh, and Hole in the Wall also reminds me of Pyramus and Thisbe and the mulberry tree…and the hole in the wall separating the lovers’ houses.

For piano lovers (I wish I was one of you), here’s the pdf arrangement of Hole in the Wall. Play it after you see Becoming Jane, see if you’re not mellow… This is another piano arrangement:

http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/phaedria/HOLE_IN2.pdf

and midi files:

http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/phaedria/HOLE_IN2.MID

http://ieee.uwaterloo.ca/praetzel/mp3-cd/toons_tr/hole.mp3

http://www.sdean.net/ECDmusic/holeinthewall.mp3

Stringwood_Trio_Hole_in_the_Wall.mp3

(the last one is my favourite).

Also, read this letter from Marshall Barron about the Hole in the Wall. It is indeed a beautiful arrangement, three-two (3/2) instead of six-eight (6/8).

And watch for this particular post as well, for I’m still looking for Purcell CDs that contains Hole in the Wall. I've found several here. There's one called the Hornpipe in 'Abdelazer; Or, The Moor's Revenge' Z570, in the 3rd disc of Purcell: Complete Ayres for the Theatre, but the beat is too fast. There's another one here, Purcell's Fantasias & Suites in Amazon.com, but no sample track. If you want to listen to the harp version, you might want to buy the Celtic Muse's Merry & Bright (I love the harp version so much!). And Assembly Players has a CD titled A Purcell Ball, with both St. Martin's Lane and Hole in the Wall. I want to order that one... but I want to listen to the sample first.

Pic1: Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) and Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) dancing with ‘The Hole in the Wall’, from www.james-mcavoy.net

Pic 2: Henry Purcell, from www.naxos.com