Just about all old-time Australian dance musicians would know one, or perhaps a few, tunes for the "Sets". These were the Quadrille Sets, dances for sets of four couples, with several "Figures"(in effect, separate short dances) making up each "Set".The most popular were the First Set of Quadrilles (hence a tune being called a "First Set Tune"), the Lancers' Quadrille, the Alberts, the Caledonian and several more. Composers in the second half of last century would write music for a particular Set, and it is likely that many of the collected tunes had their origins somewhere in these published collection. But whatever their origins, "set tunes" are some of the most interesting of Australian dance music.
Download ABCs of these tunes here
There are few tunes in minor keys in the Australian tradition, perhaps because of the popularity of the old single row button accordions. This unusual tune is from Colin Charlton of Cookmidgera, NSW, and he uses it for the 3rd Figure of the Lancers
Herb Archer was a fiddle player from Ulan, near Gulgong in central NSW. John Meredith collected this First Set Tune from him.
Bill Gilbert of Bega on the NSW South Coast was an accordion player who told John Meredith he learnt his music from his father and Jimmy Shand records. This is his First Set Tune.
Joe Yates of Sofala, NSW was one of the most interesting of the bush musicians, with a vast repertoire of interesting, and often unusual, fiddle tunes. Joe Yates' Jig was learnt from his father, and collected by John Meredith. The tune following, Joe Yates' First Set Tune, was collected by Mark Rummery and Chris Sullivan.
The large numbers of German settlers in the Darling Downs of South-East Queensland has left a lasting impression on the music of that region. Boston was collected by Mark and Maria Schuster from Graham and Lyn Reinke, of Hadon, who had learnt the tune from Kretschmar's Orchestra of Goombungee.
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