There is really only one primary source for Renaissance country dances and that is The English Dancing Master renamed The Dancing Master after the second edition, by John Playford. Over 500 country dances are listed in total in the 18 editions that were printed, most of which contain music. The copy that I am using is the unabridged 1984 reprint of Hugh Mellor’s 1933 publication. According to the note in the book, it was based on the original edition of 1651, with the music edited and put into modern notation by Leslie Bridgewater. There are some notable inconsistencies in the music, which is likely to be due to later interpretation rather than Playford, since time signatures at times do not agree with the indicated measures or the music itself.

Telephone: 650 493 9100
Website: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/del/sections/english_country_dance.html