The Calling - 2006

1. Miss Christina / Queen's Hornpipe - BD / Trad. Arr. NW/BD

Becki wrote Miss Christina whilst staying in Isla Christina, a small town in Southern Spain. The tune was written in between the rainstorms - playing fiddle in a small tent is not so easy...

We both knew slightly different versions of the Queen's Hornpipe. Becki knew the tune as the Gypsey's Hornpipe from the Thomas Hardy collection. After much arguing, we decided to go with the version from the William Andrew manuscript (from the Baring-Gould collection), as it was a bit more interesting! We play it first in G minor and then in its original key, D major.

2. Pancakes with Guus / The Last Macaroon - BD

Guus very kindly cooked us pancakes during some rainy days in Beja when we were penniless and hungry!

The Last Macaroon was named in honour of those coconutty delights that kept Becki's strength up whilst recording this CD. Thank goodness for Mrs Crimble!

3. The Lily / Bob and Joan - Trad. Arr. NW/BD

Nick learnt these pipe tunes from border pipe player Dave Faulkner. We arranged them whilst staying in a campsite near Seville. The weather was terrible so we ended up playing in the campsite washrooms; much to the amusement of the German caravaners also staying on the site! The acoustic in the washing-machine room had a fantastic natural reverb, which is why we play the tunes so slowly.

4. Bonny Kate / Twin Sisters / St Bride's - Trad. Arr. NW/BD

Becki used to play Bonny Kate with the ceilidh band Sundance. It is one of those tunes that is well-known in the English tradition and deserves to be because it is a lovely tune!

Becki learnt the Twin Sisters from Paul Wilson in Devon and then spent the whole summer busking the tune in Spain because she couldn't stop playing it!

After sifting through 'One Thousand English Country Dance Tunes' we discovered Saint Bride's, which was unknown to us. We played it through and the arrangement jumped out - it's a fantastic tune to play!

5. Corsican Tune / O Cabalo Azul (The Blue Horse) - Trad. Arr. NW/BD

Friends of Becki's spent some time in Corsica and came back having learnt this beautiful tune. They taught it to Becki whilst busking together in Galicia after meeting up at a festival there.
In some ways this tune is the most 'traditional' tune of the whole album because we have never seen it written down, we don't know it's name and we don't know if how we play it relates in any way to the tune first heard in Corsica.
If anyone knows any more about this tune please let us know!

As Becki learnt the first tune in Galicia, it only seemed right to team it up with a tune from that area. The next tune is O Cabalo Azul (Gallego for The Blue Horse) and we heard this on a CD by Galician piper Carlos Nunez.

6. Major Malley's Reel - Trad. Arr. NW/BD

Becki's family moved to Dorset when she was 10. After going to a school barn dance featuring The Yetties, her mum bought her a tunebook called 'The Musical Heritage of Thomas Hardy'. Major Malley's Reel was one of the first tunes Becki learnt to play from this book and it has remained a firm favourite. (Watch out for the pop key change!)

7. The Friendly Jigs (Trip to Plymouth / The Shepherd's Wife / Captain Wyke's Dance) - Trad. Arr. NW/BD

We don't know much about the Trip to Plymouth (although it takes about an hour and a half if the traffic isn't too bad...) Sorry about the bad pun! We actually found the tune on the new tradition of the internet and thought it was a lovely tune for the set.

Nick recorded the Shepherd's Wife on his CD of Dartmoor fiddle music 'The High Tors'. It is another of the tunes from the William Andrew manuscript from Sheepstor, collected by Baring-Gould.

The third tune is often known as Captain White's Dance but this version (also found on the internet) makes Nick feel important!
The whole set is referred to as the Friendly Jigs. This is because we find them good tunes to open a gig with when we are a bit unsure about the intentions of the audience!

8.Emlyn's Waltz - BD

This tune of Becki's was originally in Eb but we put it up into F for a slightly brighter sound. Nick plays a fiddle tuned down a tone to get a low F for the accompaniment.

9. The Calling - NW/BD

This tune was partly inspired by listening to Italian group, Spaccanapoli although somebody once asked if it was Swedish! We think it must be Devonshire...
The title was suggested by a lady who saw us play in Bridport Arts Centre after we agreed we couldn't call it 'the one in five' for any longer!