New Fiddler Collection by Huws Jones features a wealth of World Music
(February 2005)
Released this month: The Fiddler Playalong Collection 1, the latest in the bestselling Fiddler Collections series
Music educationalist, composer and string player Edward Huws Jones has travelled extensively, researching fiddle-playing traditions from all over the world.
His particular interest in ceilidh and early music led him to compile Jigs, Reels and Hornpipes (Boosey & Hawkes, 1992). This developed into the best-selling Fiddler Collections series: a faithfully-arranged mix of familiar and exotic world fiddle traditions that makes much of this traditional music available in print for the first time.
Edward's latest project is The Fiddler Playalong Collection 1, a collection of tunes drawn from every book in the Fiddler Collections series. This wonderfully diverse collection explores traditions from Irish and Gypsy to Bluegrass and Latin-American: a wide range of styles from celtic, ceilidh and cajun to klezmer, gypsy and jazz. It will serves as a perfect sampler for violinists who then want to explore the full series in greater depth.
The new book comes complete with a CD, featuring live instruments — including fiddles, guitars, banjo and piano accordion — together with high quality MIDI backings and piano accompaniment. The CD features an extraordinary variety of authentic sounds drawn from the Celtic countries, central and eastern Europe, and the Americas.
The arrangements cater for violinists ranging from the advanced player to the relative beginner, with melody lines that vary in standard from Associated Board grades 3 to 6. Aspiring fiddlers can join in with the "easy violin" parts, while players looking for a challenge can try the "violin accompaniments", which power the ensemble along with incisive rhythms and double-stopped chords.
"This is music to play and enjoy with other people. Whether it is the rhythmic drive of a Scottish ceilidh or the heart-tugging lyricism of a klezmer wedding, the music is full of freshness, spontaneity and communicative flair. The printed materials include all the parts you need, and the ensemble sounds on the CD are full of ideas for creating a stylish band with whatever players and resources are available — or for whoever turns up on the night!"
—Edward Huws Jones
> Further information on Fiddler Playalong Collection 1
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