Old Virginia: Fiddle Tunes of David Russell Hamblen

by Nikos Pappas

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This album comes with an extensive 84-page monograph that includes background information on David Russell Hamblen, the collection in which his tunes appear, dancing and dance culture in antebellum central Appalachia, musical features of the tunes, and tune histories with editions of each transcription, plus much more.

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1.	Indian Eat the Woodchuck 02:55	buy track
2.	Three Forks of Cumberland 02:45	buy track
3.	[The Two Sisters] 02:42	buy track
4.	White Cockade 02:57	buy track
5.	Isle of Saint Helena 02:26	buy track
6.	Big Tennessee 03:15	buy track
7.	Pride of America 02:41	buy track
8.	Flowers of Edinburgh 02:39	buy track
9.	Blue Bonnets over the Border 02:59	buy track
10.	Cotton Eyed Joe 02:40	buy track
11.	[Stump-Tailed Dolly (?)] 03:07	buy track
12.	Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine (Bonaparte's March) 03:16	buy track
13.	The Campbells are Coming. Ancient Scotch Air. 02:57	buy track
14.	[Home with the Girls in the Morning (?)] 02:40	buy track
15.	Chadwell's Station 02:56	buy track
16.	Lost Indian 03:10	buy track
17.	Drummer Boy of Waterloo 03:27	buy track
18.	Speckled Apron 03:10	buy track

about

"Old Virginia" showcases the earliest known collection of fiddle tunes associated with south central Appalachia. Fiddler David Russell Hamblen (1809-1893) was born in western Virginia near the Cumberland Gap into a family of fiddlers. He became known for his musical abilities that in turn were passed down to his son Williamson and grandson Armeanous Porter who was responsible for transcribing some of grandfather's favorite tunes heard here on this recording.

Although transcribed after David R.'s death, these melodies hearken back to the formative period of Appalachian fiddling and bridge the older repertories of the eighteenth century with the earliest sound recordings from central Appalachia of the early twentieth. Some are versions of well-known melodies from the eighteenth century, others early versions of tunes or members of tune families that survived into modern times, and others unique to this collection.

This recording is the first of a series to explore the origins of American fiddling in which I approach historical tune repertories by fusing historically-informed performance practice with the traditional stylings of old-time music. It represents a culmination of fifteen years study of this manuscript and growth as a fiddler. I play on a gut-strung homemade violin made in the Appalachian foothills by James Marlat of Guernsey County, Ohio in 1830 using a nineteenth-century bow contemporary to the instrument.

credits

released November 25, 2022

Dedicated to Christian Wig (1949-2022)

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about

Nikos Pappas Readfield, Maine

Championing music from Kentucky and Ohio, Nikos Pappas is a recognized Master Traditional Artist by the NEA. Originally from Ohio, he comes from a family of classical and traditional musicians documented since the 1840s. He has won honors in contests and festivals throughout the country. Pappas' activities range from recording to documentary film focused on historical and current practice. ... more

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