FORGOTTEN dance music from the 17th Century has been brought back to life by a folk trio.

The trio, called 1651, play music based on John Playford's book The English Dancing Master - first published in 1651.

"These tunes could have been written yesterday - they are simply great tunes," said Mark Emerson, who plays piano, viola and violin in the group.

"We take the starting point from the book and create a new music.

"We hope the audience are simply music lovers. We are not playing traditional Irish music or Scottish music. Basically, it is English music and it is very, very interesting.

"When we are on stage we are totally absorbed in creating something and the audiences get carried away with it.

"These were most proper tunes around the time, mostly in country dancing which was popular with the middle and upper classes and dancing was seen as a very healthy pasttime."

The other two members are Andy Cutting, on diatonic button accordion, and Tim Harries, on double bass, who is a former member of Steeleye Span and tours with Brian Eno.

"Each of us comes from a very different background but we have the same shared experience of traditional music," said Mr Emerson

"In a way, the instruments we play in 1651 are irrelevant because we do exactly the same things with different instruments but with the same approach."

1651 cut their first album in 1999, called Cast A Bell, and plan to record again.

The group is also looking forward to playing at Huntingdon Hall because it is a good venue to play "unplugged".

"It is very lively playing acoustic and playing without a PA makes it very immediate," Mr Emerson said.

1651 are appearing for one night only on Thursday, May 30, at 8pm.

Tickets cost £9, with concessions at £8, from Huntingdon Hall box office on 01905 611427.