Erskine Morris (1913 – 1997)

Erskine Morris (1913 – 1997)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Untitled D Tune (Tune from the North Coast)

Here's a great D tune off the 1978 Cassette recording. I really love the laid-back approach Erskine gives this tune. For myself, coming from a southern fiddling experience I have a tendency to anticipate the first beat of a new phrase with a down-bow to drive the tune forward. However, Erskine is not afraid to let the notes breathe and wait for the phrases to come around and this creates a great pulsing feel in this tune. Also, give a listen to the really pretty trill ornaments on the high part.

Untitled D Tune

Anyone know the name of this tune or ever hear it before?

Laura Risk noted to me that this tune bears a pretty strong resemblance to a tune known in French circles as, La Belle Catherine. Like Erskine's version, it also features the second strain played in both octaves. Erskine's tune has an extra measure in the first strain. While not the same tune, there is a good chance that these tunes are close cousins. Here is a great video of the outstanding Louis Boudreault of Chicoutimi playing La Belle Catherine:



Update: We have been calling this "Tune from the North Coast" for a few years now. When we first met Ernest Drody and played this tune for him, he recalled having heard some French-speaking fiddlers from one of the communities on the north coast of the peninsula playing this tune while visiting his father on the porch.

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