Mr Kynaston's Famous Dance

Several local dance leaders had given me copies of pages from this book, to learn the tunes to play at dances. Eventually I borrowed a copy and transcribed all the tunes. When I checked, the book seemed to be out of print, but it may become available off and on in the future. Check with the EFDSS to find it.

Nathaniel Kynaston (1683-1757) was an English Dancing Master of the early 18th century. He was one of the few dance creators who published his own dances under his own name. It was common for the publishers to omit the creators' names, or even worse, give their own names as the creator. Many of Kynaston's dances were published by John Walsh in London. Many of the tunes in this collection were also written by Kynaston, but it's not always clear which tunes are his and which are by other, unattributed composers.

Aside from his dance publications, not much is known about Nathaniel Kynaston. His family was in the Welsh border area, County Shropshire. The earliest known publication than metions Kynaston was in 1710; the last known dance (both publication and performance) by him was in 1721.