Starting this season, Fiddle Club is going to a (more or less) regular meeting schedule. We’ll get together on the third Sunday of each month, unless there’s a good reason to change to another week or another day. Looking at the Fall calendar, meetings will be held on Sept. 19, Oct. 24, Nov. 21 and Dec. 12.

Also, some meetings will be just for playing together, such as the meeting on Sept. 19. We’ve amassed quite a few great tunes from our featured guests. These tunes need to be played. So that’s what we’ll do on Sept. 19. Below are two sets of tunes worth working on. The first list is mostly old-time. The second list is more global. You can find recordings of all of these, including some at a slower tempo, on earlier posts. Or you can go to this list (just click), compiled by a loyal Fiddle Club member, with links to the 100+ tunes posted on this blog in the last couple of years.

I’m looking forward to playing these tunes with y’all in the coming months.
Paul Tyler, convener

Old-Time &c
Mississippi Palisades – Chirps Smith – April ‘08
Chopique Two-Step – Will & Holly Whedbee – May ‘08
Granny – Alan Jabbour – October ‘08
Brushy Run – Dan Gellert – March ‘09
Dad’s Reel – Pete Sutherland – October ‘09
D’uo Viens – Dennis Stroughmatt – March ‘10
Who’ll Cut the Britches – Genevieve & Smith Koester – April ‘10
Fire on the Mountain – Matt Brown – May ‘10
Sugar in the Gourd - Paul Brown (Mostly Mountain Boys) – June ‘10
Daylight in the Morning – Jim & Kim Lansford – July ‘10

Global &c
Kerry Slides (Irish) – Paddy Jones – March ‘08
El Caballito (Mexican) – Felipe Valle – July ‘08
Steffasgard (Rorospols) (Norwegian) – Karen Solgard – November ‘08
Mäläskän kuoleman polska (Finnish) – Arto Järvelä – September ‘09
Gone for His Tea (Irish) – Liz Knowles – February ‘10
Der Einfache (Austrian) – Rudi Pietsch – June ‘10
Viktor’s vals (Finnish) – Kukka Lehto (Polka Chicks) – June ‘10
plus we have to add . . .
Koputus polkka from Arto Järvelä’s month long residency in 2009.

While the judges consulted on the final order, we had performances by 1st place winner’s in the Open Division — the Rachel Baiman Band — and the Youth Division — Maddy & the Hillions

In reverse order, here are the top 4 prize winners in the Invitational Division.

4th Place – Moravska Cimbalovka (Moravian Cymbalom Band), led by Andrew Tokarz

Their first tune was a traditional Moravian folk song.

3th Place – Paulina Hollers, Elizabeth Lamberti & Jim Becker & Kristen Bern, fiddles, &amp with Lea Tschilds on guitar & Clayton Brown on bass. They brought along the Chicago Prairie Cloggers, led by Rebecca Unger.

They followed up with “Back-Step Cindy.”

2nd Place – Stil Hua, Kristen Bern on fiddle, with Kevin Carey on flute, Siobhan Wojcik on bouzouki & Andrew Serb on bodhran. Rory Ward was their dancer.

Their second tune was a medley of an air and a reel.

1st Place – Cajun Vagabonds, Dorian Gehring-fiddle with Stewart Gehring-guitar, Eli Leki-Albano-bass & Monica Vachon-triangle. They brought two dancing couples from the Chicago Associate Chapter of the Cajun French Music Association.

Their second tune was “Lacassine Special”, a two-step. The dancers really got it going.

The evening also featured performances by the three top prize winners at the Youth Division competition held in June:
3rd Place – Ethan Matlin with Last Minute Deal
2nd Place – Abigail Burrus & Sean Mythen with Sarah Mythen
1st Place – Maddy & the Hillions, Max & Anna Hill, fiddles & Maddy Tyler, guitar

In reverse order, here are the top 4 prize winners in the Open Division.

4th Place – Twin Sisters, that is Debi Lewis on fiddle with Deborah Fausch on banjo

They started off with “Oak Ridge Stomp.”

3th Place – Chirish, Maggie Danaher & Kristen Bern, fiddles, & Andrew Serb, guitar
(It was too dark to film in the plaza when this group played, so all we have is an audio recording.)

They played a medley of “The Gentle Maiden” and “Tommy People’s Reel.”

2nd Place – Po’ River Boys, Dan Gillespie on fiddle, with Jeff Yonkis on fiddle & washtub bass & Evan Collins on banjo

Their first tune was “Black-Eyed Susie.” Later, in a playoff, they played “Gospel Plow.”

1st Place – Second String, Rachel Baiman & Eva Walsh, fiddles with Greg Reish on guitar and Ethan Philion on bass

They started with “Oh My Little Darling,” and performed “Red Rocking Chair” for the playoff.

Part 2 will feature videos of the four bands that competed in the Invitational Division at Folk & Roots.

JIM & KIM LANSFORD from Galena, Missouri
Friday, July 16, 8 pm
Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen)

Show up tonight and register at the door. Dues are $15 for this meeting.
The registration link at oldtownschool.org is no longer working.

And here’s Jim & Kim with a medley of tunes from the nineteenth century. These are great!

(click to enlarge)

And Here is the lineup for the Invitational Division that will take place on the main stage at the Chicago Folk & Roots Festival at 12:55pm, Saturday July 19. Each band is led by a fiddler and is required to bring along dancers to help demonstrate how good the fiddler plays.

Stil Nua, an Irish band featuring Kristen Bern of Palos Heights. Accompanied by flute, guitar and bodhran. Playing for step-dancer Rory Ward.

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

The Cajun Vagabonds featuring fiddler Dorian Gehring of Chicago. Accompanied by guitar, bass and triangle. The dancers will do a waltz and two-step.

The Paulina Hollers, an old-time band featuring fiddler Elizabeth Lamberti and banjoist Jim Becker (both are Old Town School teachers). Accompanied by guitar & bass. The dancers are the Chicago Prairie Clogging Team, led by Rebecca Unger, back for their second appearance at Folk & Roots.

Moravska Cimbalovka, a Moravian village band led by Andrew Tokarz. The lineup includes fiddle, kontra (a chording fiddle), cimbalom (a large hammer dulcimer), clarinet & bass. They will be bringing along some Moravian folk dancers.

Also the first place winners from the Youth Division and Open Divisions will perform on the main stage while the judges reach a consensus. The prize money is award accordingly . . .

First Prize        – $400
Second Prize   – $300
Third Prize      – $200
Fourth & Fifth Prize     -   $150 each

Enjoy the friendly competition and the great music.
Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter)

Here are a couple of fine tunes from the middle of the U.S.
Grey Eagle in C

From Cyrill Stinnett of Braymer, Missouri.
Grey Eagle in C slow

Daylight in the Morning fiddle & guitar

From Uncle Bunk Williams, an Ozark fiddler
Daylight in the Morning slow

(click to enlarge)

Jim & Kim Lansford will be performing at a Fiddle Club of the World meeting, 8:00pm on Friday, July 16 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen) in Chicago.

Click here to register

[And proud papa suggests you also check out the band that won fifth place.]

The Open Division (called Team Division in the past) is back this year, scheduled for Thursday July 8 at 7 pm in Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square. (Just a two-block walk up Lincoln from the School). It’s part of the Folk & Roots Festival preview sponsored by the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce.

All fiddlers are welcome to enter. It is highly recommended that you enter with a band of one or two accompanimists. Click here for more information (rules, prizes &c.).

An online entry form should appear soon at the above link. Or try this one that can be printed out and faxed or dropped off.

And again, the invitational Fiddle Band division will be held at the Chicago Folk & Roots Festival on Saturday, July 10 at 12:55 on the main stage in Welles Park. The top winners from the Kid’s Contest and the Open Division will also be there to play a tune.

The Midwest Fiddle Championship is presented by the Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter).
Paul Tyler, convener

Rudi Pietsch from Vienna gave an intimate concert, joined by his friend Jürgen Schempp, from Swabia (that’s in Germany) on guitar. Your humble convener was quickly trained for second fiddle. For the proper Austrian style we lacked a kontra (chorded fiddle or viola) and a bowed bass. Here is a slow yodel followed by a fast dance tune.

Meraner Jodler-Ischler Schläunige

Two days later, the Mostly Mountain Boys and the Polka Chicks dropped in for two evenings at the Old Town School. On Tuesday night they did a workshop for several fiddle class and the Fiddle Club.

The Mostly Mountain Boys (Paul Brown-fiddle, Teri McMurray-banjo and John Schwab-guitar) hail from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Washington DC. They started out with a twisty but fine version of “Fisher’s Hornpipe” they learned from Esker Hutchins of Dobson, North Carolina.

Fisher’s Hornpipe

The Polka Chicks, from Helsinki (that’s in Suomi, aka Finland), are Kukka Lehto on fiddle and Tejia Niku on accordion. They started with song of poverty and sadness. The singer’s life is so sad that his parents don’t even care if he marries a girl in America.

unnamed song from northern Finland

Following this lovely introduction, Paul Brown taught us distinctive version of Sugar in the Gourd that he learned from Norman Edmonds of Hillsville, Virginia. And Kukka Lehto worked us through the haunting major and minor turns of Viktors Vals from Ostrobothnia, an area in western Finland with an especially rich fiddle tradition.

The following night, both the Mostly Mountain Boys and the Polka Chicks were on the stage in our concert hall for World Music Wednesday. A delightful performance.

Kukka Lehto & Teija Niku
(click to enlarge)

One morsel more. One of the oldest folk dance tunes from Austria, a ländler that was written down in 1702. Rudi plays a setting that imitates the dudelsack (German for bagpipes). Here’s another view.

My father’s day gift to all who are the child of a dad.
Paul Tyler, convenver

For the last few weeks, the Old Town School has been graced with a visitor from Vienna, Austria. Rudi Pietsch is an ethnomusicologist who is spending a quarter teaching at the University of Chicago and researching music in the communities of Central European immigrants in Chicago and the Midwest. In his spare time, he’s come by the School to learn a few American tunes. He also dropped in on Fiddle 4 Twin Fiddle class.

(click to enlarge)

a yodel played on the fiddle in three voices

To hear all three voices, you’ll have to bring your fiddle and join in. Here’s Rudi singing one voice and playing another on fiddle.
yodel with fiddle

And here’s the same melody played as a ländler, a dance in 3.
yodel as a ländler

Here’s a polka, Der Einfache . . .
Der Einfache voice 1

add voice 2 (oops, the trio is missing)

Der Einfache played by Fiddle 4 class with Rudi Pietsch on piano

(click to enlarge)

And a Zwiebacher, Die Bacherlmuhl, a dance mixing 2s and 3s.

(click to enlarge)