John Colville
John Colville composed the tune "New Parliament House" in 1980. He recorded it for inclusion in this archive.
I originally wrote this tune on melodeon for which I think it is particularly suitable. I wrote the dance and the tune (1980) for a dance composing competition that took place in Sydney and I'm pleased to say it won. It's being danced in the US and the UK and has been published by Cecil Sharp House in a book of the most popular dances in London.
Whilst I've made my living playing all kinds of music I primarily see myself as a dance musician and enjoy playing for good dancers. However, back then I was becoming disappointed with the declining standard of dancing and dance music so decided to compose a dance with lots of movement to be danced and played at a more leisurely pace to encourage the dancers to dance with more elegance. Each man has 2 partners so the music starts with 2 chords so he can bow to each partner and the 48 bar tune is played 3 times to complete the whole sequence of the dance which is 3x48 bars. I hope the Gathering goes well and please say hello to everyone. Cheers, John Colville, 20 September 2018
