Baroque Hornpipe
The triple-time hornpipe dance rhythm was often used by composers in England in the Baroque period. It is probably artificial to draw too rigid a distinction between the popular and art-music examples. Many country dance examples are found in The Dancing Master, such as "The Hole in the Wall", by Purcell, and there are also extant theatrical choreographies that use steps from French court ballet, but which characteristically have step-units going across the measure. Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel composed hornpipes, and Handel occasionally gave "alla hornpipe" as a tempo indication (see Handel's Water Music). Today, the most well-known baroque hornpipe tune is probably Purcell's "Hornpipe Rondeau" from the incidental music to Abdelazer (which was used by Benjamin Britten as the theme for his Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra) or the 'Alla Hornpipe' movement from the D major of Handel's Water Music suites. Hornpipes are occasionally found in German music of this period.
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