- 1 MSFC ORIGINALS
- New Tricks (Pria Schwall-Kearney)/Odyssey (Matt Robertson)/The New Millennium (Judy Turner)/arr jack Wilson and Neil Adam
- This is a set of original tunes composed by members of our club. Each tune marks passage to a new era of fiddling, and the sharing of a great and growing fiddle tradition. Pria wrote the first tune as a gift to Judy and Neil and their band 'New Dogs Old Tricks'. The second tune was written by the club's long-serving president Matthew Robertson, for a Scottish dancers' winter school themed "001 - A Dance Odyssey". Judy wrote the third tune for the members of the Club at the turn of the century-to encourage them to venture into new territory with the majestic key of F major. (JT)
- 2 A HERD OF GOWS
- Miss Sarah Drummond of Perth (Niel Gow)/Stool o' Repentance (Niel Gow)/High Road to Linton (trad)
- Niel Gow (1727-1807) was famed for his powerful and distinctive bowing, immortalised in the Burns stanza - "Nae fabled wizard's wand, I trow,/Had e'er the magic airt o Gow/When wi' a wave he draws his bow/across his wondrous fiddle". We hope we've given this great modal Strathspey a wee bit of what he did. The Stool o' Repentance is one of our favourite jigs jazzed up. The High Road to Linton gets the full treatment - a traditional reel that's stood the test of time. Not a Niel Gown tune, but one he may well have heard and played. (MRI)
- 3 GATES OF GOLD
- (lyr. Robert Louis Stevenson, melody Neil Adam) Gorsafy Gof(lolo Jones)
- Neil's love affair with the words of Robert Louis Stevenson continues on this album with this great poem to the generosity of the poor, many of whom the author met when dossing out under the Golden Gate Bridge in 1879 waiting for his future bride Fanny. Neil set these words to this lovely melody and Judy added the Welsh tune learned at the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention at Aberdeen in 2006. Features Gus Rigby on tenor sax. (JT)
- 4 GHOST OF THE GOWS
- Farewell to Whisky (Niel Gow)/Niel Gow Foggo (Matt Robertsons/The Reel o' Tulloch (trad)
- Niel Gow's response to the proscription of distilling in Scotland in 1799, (somehow the ban didn't quite last!), followed by my contribution to reviving Scottish style slip jigs, celebrating the life of Scottish fiddler Niel Gow Foggo (c. 1810-1870), twice transported to Van Diemen's Land. Foggo's maternal grandmother Margaret was sister to Nathaniel Gow, the most celebrated musical offspring of Nie! Gow. Historian Peter MacFie brought to light this Australian connection with Gow. Finally a fiery traditional highland reel with a lost provenance. Our arrangement evokes images of haunted Kirk-Alloway in Burns' Tarn o' Shanter, with a legion of witches and warlocks dancing in frenzy, before assailing Tam and his steed, Maggie. Fiddler Colin Macleod and I are supported by Neil Adam's guitar. (MR)
- 5 SINE FHIONNLASTAN
- Known as Fear a1 Bhata (The Boatman) Composed Jane Finlayson/arr R.McCoy
- Bee Rigby sings a hauntingly beautiful song of bereavement and undying love from the Scottish Hebrides, accompanied by Natasha on cello and Dave on harp. Local tradition on the Isle of Lewis places the story in the 1790's and gives the lovers' names as Sheena MacFinlay and Donald MacRae. Although Donald was presumed to have been lost at sea, Sheena never abandoned hope for his return but watched daily for his boat from atop Gallows Hill outside the town of Stomoway. She expressed her thoughts in this poem, which was set to music after her death. (RMcC)
- 6. JOHN NY/HUGHIE/BILLY
- Johnny Wilmot's Fiddle (Elmer Briand)/Hughie Shorty (Johnny Wilmot)/Billy Thorn (Jim Johnstone)/arr MSFC
- This set of tunes represents all that is great in Cape Breton fiddling and includes two of my all time
faves, featuring Pete Dwyer on mandolin (Billy), along with some great cello playing from Claire
Alleway (Johnny) and Natasha Trinkle (Billy), as well as that top notch brother and sister duo Evan
(flute) and Sarah Davies (fiddle) playing what is arguably the best tune ever written - Hughie Shorty.
Johnny Wilmot, we hope you are getting some great tunes up there in the big session in the sky! (|T)
- 7. LET ME DIE IN MY FOOTSTEPS
- Bob Dylan/arr Neil Adam and Judy Turner
- This is Bob Dylan's first song. Think yourself back to the early sixties and the Cuban Crisis, and the American Government's anti-Communist scare campaign encouraging families to build bomb shelters in their back yards. Bob says he'd rather die walking down a street. It has become a special concert favourite, an anti-war song no less relevant than the day it was penned. The feeling of singing with 30 fiddles behind you has to be experienced to be believed. (NA)
- 8. WHEELS OF FORTUNE
- Trad Scottish/arr Wise family and MSFC
- Louisa Wise coralled her girls Rowie, Ruth and Lucy into their family recording studio with Scott at the controls in Margaret River WA to lay down the vocals for this track, the rest of which - including Bec's vocals- was recorded at Tintern in Melbourne. Louisa says "I learned that song off an Artie & Cilia (Tresize/Fisher) album in the late 70s while in Tucson Arizona — I went through a Scottish ballad phase that lasted for years". For years we loved the gals singing on this song and are this they agreed to join us on the new album! (]T)
- 9. THE BUTCHER BIRD
- Gigue du Salon (Pascale Gemme)The Butcher Bird (Judy Turner)
- We had a cool time in the scorching heat of Port Fairy weekend (March 2008) getting to know the
boys from Montreal band Genticorum - Pascale taught us his Living Room Jig - he wrote it while
the band was searching around for a missing piece of sheet music. The Butcher bird was written
for committed birdos Pete and Shirl Dwyer, inspired by the song of the butcher birds
that lived in our street in outer Melbourne. The set features
the viola made for me by Alceste Bulfari, Neil's Gurian guitar
and Pete's mandola. (]T)
- 10 BONNIE GEORGE CAMPBELL
- (trad Child Ballad 210)/Collessie Motivator Waltz (Judy Turner)
- I learnt this song from the singing of Nic Jones, one of the greatest singers and players of the folk revolution. Bonnie George was one of those guys who feature in many of the ancient Child Ballads - was he a louse, unlucky or a hero? The historians say he was a hero: "the ballad is probably a lament for one of two cousins, Archibald or James Campbell who died in the battle of Glenlivet on October 3, 1594." Maybe. Anyway, the accompanying tune was written for fiddler Kristin Marriott of Mansfield, and her husband Max, to commiserate the languishing in quarantine of their young stallion imported from Collessie in Scotland to be chief sire in their Clydesdale stud. (NA)
- 11.JACK'S JIGS
- I Lost My Love/Mum's jig (Buddy MacMaster)/Malcolm's New Fiddle (jerry Holland)/arr Jack Wilson
- All three jigs in this set come from the Cape Breton fiddling tradition. The first two are traditional tunes learned from the playing of Brenda Stubbert and Buddy MacMaster respectively, two of the most revered fiddlers of the 'older' generation. The third tune is a personal favourite. It seems that somehow, almost every tune I really really like turns out to be a Jerry Holland tune. (JW)
- 12. SONG FOR THE MIRA
- Alistair McGilivray, Cabot Trail Music/arr Richard Klein and Neil Adam
- Neil loves dropping in on fiddler Richard Klein (originally from the States) in his restaurant in Wellington NZ, playing tunes among the pasta and good wines, and persuaded Richard to pop in and record this one with us. Richard says "In the summer of 1977, a few months before my 20th birthday, I left home with fiddle and backpack to travel "down East" to Nova Scotia and, in particular, Cape Breton Island in search of tunes and adventure. Happily, both were available in abundance. I first heard this song at a farm located somewhere on the Cabot Trail. It struck me the depth of sentiment expressed towards the kind people of that very magical place which was also quite clearly a hot bed of musical talent and innovation based on a rock solid core of Scottish folk traditions."(RK)
- 13.COOL/YOUNG PEOPLE'S SET
- The Happy One Step/Sail Away Ladies/Traditional Cape Breton/The Black Horse (John Morris Rankin)
- The tunes in this set come from different North American fiddle styles closely related to Scottish fiddle music. The first tune comes from the Cajun fiddling tradition of Louisiana. The second tune comes from American Old Time tradition, which originated to north east a little bit in the Appalachian mountains, and was learned from the playing of the amazing Brittany Haas. The last two tunes in the set come from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. I learned the third tune from the playing of Andrea Beaton via the internet and the fourth from Wendy Maclsaac. The cool/young people of the club are joined by Catherine Strutt, Australia's foremost Scottish piano player and my favourite pianist in the whole world. (JW/arranger)
- 14.CHRIS DUNCAN'S MANSFIELD SET
- The North Brig 0' Edinburgh (trad)/Brumley Brae (William MacPherson)/arr MSFC
- I taught these tunes to the fiddlers at our Mansfield weekend in 2007 - Dave and Neil came up with the funky rhythm part. The reel is one of those centuries old tunes that could have been written yesterday, and the strathspey one of my favourite hairy ones! (CD)
- 15 IS.GOING GAELIC WITH DR RON
- Oidche Mhath Leibh (Good night to you)/lomaraibh Eutrom (Row gently)/Calum's Road (Donald Shaw) /
- Meal do Bhrogan (Enjoy your shoes)/Miss Thompson's Hornpipe/arr MSFC
- The opening evocative parting song is one of the best known of traditional Gaelic songs, often placed at the end of the night at concerts to farewell our audience. I learned the rowing song lomaraibh Eutrom from Cathie-Ann MacPhee at the music school Ceolas on the Isle of South Uist. This is a cautionary tale of why you shouldn't collect shellfish at the high tide. Calum's Road celebrates the determination and triumph of shy Raasay crofter Calum Macleod. Gaelic speaking Calum took a no-nonsense approach to local government bean counters who refused to extend a local road, and in an act of defiance, used a pick, shovel, wheelbarrow and crowbar, and in ten years, built it with his bare hands! Fiddle solo is by Jean McConnachie. I learned the mouth music Meal do Bhrogan from various sources in Australia and Scotland. Ending with a tune taught to us by master fiddler Chris Duncan, Miss Thompson's Hornpipe is brimming with exuberance and fun which the MSFC lives for. (RMcC)
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