Jaymom - Posted - 11/16/2009:  16:02:32

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I've been watching the video "Hector The Hero" by Saint Vitus Dance Band and being a new commer to the fiddle Im wondering what style of music it falls under. I dont feel that it is bluegrass or country. Where can I go to find more music like this???

Harold

DougD - Posted - 11/16/2009:  17:00:33

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This tune was composed about one hundred years ago by James Scott Skinner, a very influential force in Scottish music, in commemoration of Sir Hector MacDonald. For more see: abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/

As far as the actual style of this performance, I'd call it "modern," although this sweet and soulful rendition doesn't share much with current "Celtic" music - good though!

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Edited by - DougD on 11/16/2009 17:26:35

M-D - Posted - 11/16/2009:  17:06:23

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And, the genre of Celtic/Irish didn't seem right, and there was no other that did seem correct, so I left it as "unknown", even though I knew it was written by Skinner, a Scotsman.

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M-D

Traditional Ozarks, Always

Music is found in the space between the notes -- in the silence between the chords. Get your spaces right, and you've got it. ~ Albert Greenfield

Fiddler - Posted - 11/16/2009:  17:19:31

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"Hector the Hero" by Skinner commemorated Gen. Hector Macdonald who committed suicide in 1903 in Paris after a vicious rumor of his homosexuality surfaced. (I've gleaned this from several source, so I welcome any corrections.) Nevertheless, the tune is a magnicificent and tender tribute to a dear friend.

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fiddle music - "... it's for the uplifting of people. It's the highest, the most high, most high, most high...'' Marcus Martin.

OTJunky - Posted - 11/16/2009:  17:57:20

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If you liked "Hector the Hero", you'll undoubtedly like "Niel Gow's Lament for His Second Wife".

youtube.com/watch?v=P8zoB8nAIWo


And probably you'll like the music of Turlough Carolan - a 17th century blind Irish harpists. To start off, look for tunes named

"Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór"

youtube.com/watch?v=K0mot5vBCBc


"Give Me Your Hand" (Tabhair dom do Lámh in Gaelic)

youtube.com/watch?v=r1nkpcttMG4


If you like all these, then you'll likely want to delve more deeply into the music of Ireland, Scotland, and the Shetland Islands.

Aly Bain's probably the best known Shetland Islands fiddler. I'm not up on Scottish fiddlers - but just Google for them and you'll likely find'em.

Don't let these guys kid you - this is Celtic music..

--OTJ
"I can barely fiddle on four strings. Why would I want five?"

AuldNick - Posted - 11/16/2009:  19:41:33

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Right you are, Fiddler....1903 - suicide.
He went from Colour-Sargent in the 92nd all the way to Major General.

You can hear a clip of the man himself (Skinner)playing the tune.
abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/audio.php
(all the way to the bottom of the page.)

Jaymom...any good collection of Scots or Irish music should have a fair few airs
for you. Also, from Breton.

I'm playing all the right notes....they're just not in the right order.

Jaymom - Posted - 11/17/2009:  03:21:41

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Thank you so much everybody. This is some fantastic music indeed.

Harold

Fiddler - Posted - 11/17/2009:  06:55:39

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AuldNick - thanks.

I have several recordings of the "Strathspey King" that he made in the early 20th Century - they are among my favorites. (I think my ancestral Scottish heritage is showing through.)


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fiddle music - "... it's for the uplifting of people. It's the highest, the most high, most high, most high...'' Marcus Martin.

mudbug - Posted - 11/27/2009:  03:57:29

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Jaymom, If you liked that version, please check you-tube "Hector the Hero" and listen to Jenna Reid with Ali Bain. Saint Vitus does a different B part. Jenna does the B part that I thought was "standard", but I guess some tunes have various interpretations.

What a beautiful tune!

Fiddler - Posted - 11/27/2009:  09:50:32

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Saint Vitus Dance Band plays the tune in D. Skinner wrote it in A. There is a pdf of the hand-written music on the site AuldNick posted above. In "The Scottish Violinist" Skinner added a variation on the first part with it being played an octave lower. Jenna is playing the tune as written by Skinner.

mandoalbee - Posted - 12/11/2009:  13:32:38

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Hi everyone. I'm the guy playing the mandolin on Hector the Hero.

Saint Vitus Dance Band started out as an oldtime square dance band at the Ozark Folk Center. After our banjo player quit, we we hired our guitarist/percussionist Kathy Jensen, and started doing different dance tunes from around the world including Klezmer, Gypsy, Greek and eastern European stuff.

Our recording of Hector the Hero was not an attempt to play Celtic. It was a tune that fiddler DeeAnn Gillispie had been playing for about 10 years after attending a performance of the Celtic Fiddle Festival Band in Little Rock. She is a big fan of the late Johnny Cunningham.

We play it like they did in the key of D with the guitar in Drop D tuning. Makes for a lovely sound. We don't fit into any genre except for maybe "international dance music", I guess. We still play for square dances, too.

Thanks for the nice compliments.
Albee Tellone

John Gent - Posted - 12/11/2009:  18:32:23

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quote:

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Originally posted by mandoalbee
... I'm the guy playing the mandolin on Hector the Hero. ...

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And a hearty Welcome to you Albee. Thank you all for your cut of that tune!

As you may have spotted, this tune took immediate interest with me and I had it under my chin in short order. Someday I'll be able to put the kind of feel into it that DeeAnn does, but I'm pretty pleased with what I'm able to do with it today.

And thanks again to M-D for posting that gem.

- John