mateo - Posted - 04/25/2010:  18:13:34

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Hey lets start this off with Kudos to Dancing Bear!

This week I wanted to cross the lines of tune/song. This composition was originally a piano piece from a Polish composer which found its way into fiddle repertoire via the King of Western Swing, Mr. Bob Wills.

"A Maiden's Prayer" (original Polish title: Modlitwa dziewicy Op. 4, French: La prière d'une vierge) is a composition of Polish composer Tekla B#261;darzewska-Baranowska (born 1834 in Warsaw, died September 29, 1861 in Warsaw), which was published in 1856 in Warsaw, and then as a supplement to the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris in 1859. The piece, which is still recorded, is a medium difficulty short piano piece for intermediate pianists. Some have liked it for its charming and romantic melody: others have described it as "sentimental salon tosh." The pianist and academic Arthur Loesser described it as "this dowdy product of ineptitude."

The above it from Wikipedia telling about the song.

I learned this song from Texas Fiddle Hall of Fame Fiddler Dale Morris. He has a beautiful version set for twin fiddles.

This song is normally played as a medley with Faded Love.

Here is a straight up version played by the master himself Johnny Gimble:

youtube.com/watch?v=wDfUsFLaWR8

Here is a version by an up and coming fiddler. I will not live long enough to be as good as this kid is in this video:

youtube.com/watch?v=SagVP0nz0ug

And lastly the King. Bob Wills:

youtube.com/watch?v=kg_0u9Z-9V4

The amazing thing about this song is that it goes from a low A on the G string all the way up to the Harmonic E on the E string.

This is one of my favorites and it thinks its a great study of the beauty of Western Swing and its far reaching influences.

I eagerly look forward to this weeks discussion.

m.

shellyrat - Posted - 04/25/2010:  18:21:44

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youtube.com/watch?v=4ja4wLgGJOk
Here is adam explaining how he plays maidens prayer. Love this tune.
kathy c in ky

coelhoe - Posted - 04/25/2010:  18:39:51

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Somewhere in an interview Wills himself says that his father learned it from nearby Germans as a lullaby and reworked it. It would be interesting to know how close the Polish composition is to the recorded melody.

In spite of the same name, I don't see / hear how the piano melody (several on Youtube) could ever have been modified to Will's tune

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Edited by - coelhoe on 04/25/2010 19:02:11

newo - Posted - 04/25/2010:  18:56:13

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Mateo, the first video that you credit to gimble, I came across this several months ago and just about wore it out listening to it. I,ve been hearing Gimble play that song as long as I can remember and I don't think it's Johnny on this recording. Sounds more like Bobby Hicks to me. Maybe not. Would like to know for sure.

cstewart - Posted - 04/26/2010:  06:10:03

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That little kid makes me want to cry.

mateo - Posted - 04/26/2010:  08:08:00

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newo,

I agree that it does not sound like other versions that Gimble has done. There are credits for three fiddlers on the album:

Here are the credits:

Musicians-Johnny Gimble,Randy Howard,Buddy Spicher &More

Personnel: Mark Thorton, David West, Brian Sutton (guitar); Robby Turner, Bill Flores (steel guitar); Paul Kramer (electric mandolin); Johnny Gimble, Randy Howard, Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Tom Ball (harmonica); Sam Levine (clarinet); Bill Flores (saxophone); Jim Williamson (trumpet); Dennis Wage (piano); Dennis Crouch (bass); Kenny Malone (drums, percussion).

It could be any of those fellows listed.

Any ideas?

m.

OTJunky - Posted - 04/26/2010:  08:21:23

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My bet would be on Buddy Spicher - though I've no idea why anybody would ask Buddy Spicher to play Maiden's Prayer then have Johnny Gimble stand around an listen. They workings of the Nashville music business have been a mystery to me ever since the death of Hank Williams...

Must've been awful for Spicher - unless they cut the tracks with different fiddlers at different times.

BTW, I don't intend any of this to be taken as a lack of regard for Buddy Spicher's fiddling. Spicher's a really good fiddler. It's just that Maiden's Prayer is one of the classic tunes associated with Bob Will's band and Gimble actually played with Bob Will's band.

--OTJ

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Edited by - OTJunky on 04/26/2010 08:52:51

phicks - Posted - 04/26/2010:  10:44:20

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Bobby Bruce did a version in G and E flat. It's in Stacy's Western Swing Fiddle. Tough stuff!

Ozarkian D.L. - Posted - 04/26/2010:  10:46:19

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Such a gifted talented kid is Adam. I like his whimsical touches he adds to his videos. Here's a simple, short tutorial on tha tune I like :

youtube.com/watch?v=3pAHEz6Zdws

I like tha LLP ( look, listen, practice ) method.

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Edited by - Ozarkian D.L. on 04/26/2010 10:52:19

mateo - Posted - 04/26/2010:  11:05:03

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I think in this piece you hear the melody that was translated to the fiddle tune we know today:

youtube.com/watch?v=N60feysfofE

OTJunky - Posted - 04/26/2010:  11:41:44

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Sheesh - who'd have thought you could teach a human to play exactly like a player piano...

--OTJ

mateo - Posted - 04/26/2010:  12:04:05

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Maybe it is a player piano!

woodwiz - Posted - 04/26/2010:  12:41:10

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Piano rolls were cut pianists actually playing the tune. If I'm not mistaken, even Gershwin cut some rolls, I seem to recall hearing a roll of him playing "Rhapsody in Blue"

Chuck Naill - Posted - 04/26/2010:  13:13:06

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J.W Green's version, box.net/shared/6qshd7cukg

coelhoe - Posted - 04/26/2010:  13:32:17

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I still don't hear the fiddle tune as we know it, but I have a hunch that there is or was an intermediate piece or song arranged from the piano composition and popular in central Europe in the late 1800's that is the foundation of Will's piece.

John Gent - Posted - 04/26/2010:  14:16:40

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Does anyone have tab, tef, shoot, even notation for a 2nd fiddle of this?

... like this ...
youtube.com/watch?v=JGsvfDFy9q...e=related

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Edited by - John Gent on 04/26/2010 14:20:58

mateo - Posted - 04/26/2010:  17:18:49

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John,

I have twin fiddle notation of this tune that I bought from Dale Morris. I am not sure if he will sell just a copy of this song, but it would worth while contacting him. The notation has the entire song with harmony part and lead.

m.

shellyrat - Posted - 04/26/2010:  22:14:48

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wonderhowto.com/how-to-play-ma...n-171769/
here is another link there is also a slowed down version by the same lady on the site
kathy c in ky

NCFiddleFan - Posted - 05/04/2010:  18:07:07

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That is Johnny..Different tone from Bobby Hicks...That could be Buddy Spicher playing second fiddle with Johnny there..Buddy Spicher is pretty much considered the God Father of double stops..

oldtimer - Posted - 05/04/2010:  18:33:31

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quote:

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Originally posted by OTJunky

My bet would be on Buddy Spicher - though I've no idea why anybody would ask Buddy Spicher to play Maiden's Prayer then have Johnny Gimble stand around an listen. They workings of the Nashville music business have been a mystery to me ever since the death of Hank Williams...

--OTJ

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Yes, I would say Buddy Spicher. I just met Buddy about ten days ago. He was here for his induction into the National Fiddlers Hall of Fame. Believe it or not, Buddy has played on more recordings than any other fiddler in history. That's what being a Nashville sideman gets you.

stay tooned....
Glenn Godsey