Derek Hoy wrote:
>
> ...But
> younger musicians tend towards the sexier, flash stuff- same with many of the
> young Irish/Canadian bands that we get here. And sometimes I don't think they
> realise where tunes are from- they just play what they like.
I had to laugh as I read this because it reminded me of what happened
in the fiddle workshops I took on Cape Breton two summers ago. There
were several advanced students who attended that week, who had
apparently learned Amy Cann's "Catharsis" before coming to the
workshops. I'm guessing that one of the reasons they learned that was
that Natalie MacMaster recorded it on her "No Boundaries" CD. She tried
out a number of tunes from other traditions on that recording, and IIRC,
Amy Cann is from Vermont or New Hampshire.
Anyway, there seemed to be an unspoken consensus among that group of
students that "Cartharsis" was some really hot new Cape Breton tune, and
often when there was a break, they'd start playing it.. and go on and on
for 15-20 minutes at a time. By the end of the week, I *really* hated
that tune - and I haven't recovered yet! In spite of the fact that
Natalie had the good taste to limit it to 2-1/2 minutes, I still skip
that track when I listen to that CD. :-)
Fortunately when I went back this past summer, due to the mix of
teachers and students, the focus was much more on older, traditional
tunes.
Wendy
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