I just got back from the annual Fiddler’s Convention in Athens, AL and heard some geat musicians and tunes. But two tunes that stuck out in particular are “Jerusalem Ridge” and “Essex Farewell”. I’d heard Jerusalem Ridge before, which is a great fiddle tune, but it was the first time I’d heard Essex Farewell, which sounded very Irish and one of the most beautiful melodies I’ve heard. I asked the performing band about it but they were pressed for time and couldn’t provide any more info than it being an old Virginia tune. I’ve done an online search and found several CDs with Jerusalem Ridge but can’t find anything about Essex Farewell. I can learn Jersualm Ridge from a CD but I’m in the dark about Essex Farewell. If anyone knows this tune and where I can find it, please let me know.
There’s a well-known tune called Elzick’s Farewell. Maybe that’s the one you’re thinking of. It’s a West Virginia tune. There’s an unusual solo banjo version of it at the Banjo-L website by Allen Feldman. Very nice, too. Go to this address and click on Banjo-L subscriber’s MP3 recordings. http://banjo-l.org/ Allen Feldman is the co-author of The Northern Fiddler, a book about fiddling in Counties Donegal and Tyrone and, obviously, and old time banjo player.
Jerusalem Ridge is attributed to Bill Monroe and was originally played by Kenny Baker who may have had a hand in composing it. It was recorded by Kevin Burke too, among many others.
Steve
PS I just discovered the photo album of the Rattlesnake Creek Band (2nd link posted above). If you go there check it out for pictures of the snakes in Feakle, Ireland and other pictures of Ireland.
Thanks…Yes, that’s the tune and I was able to find the music on ABC Tunefinder once I had the name correct. I asked two people about it at the event and obviously misunderstood the name as Essex instead of Elzick’s. There are some pretty thick accents over there! Anyway, thanks again. It’s a really nice tune.
Someone asked about chords for Flook’s version of Elzick’s Farewell. I don’t have the Flook CD. I wonder if it’s the same tune. With a name like that, it’s hard to imagine that there are too many different tunes called Elzick’s Farewell. Usually a farewell tune is allegedly about somebody about to be hanged and he plays the tune just before he’s strung up or else he’s going off to the war (American Civil War) and has some sort of premonition that he’ll never return and plays the tune just before heading out for the fighting.
here’s a link to the dots for Flook’s Elzic’s Farewell. Spelled with just a c and no k. It’s different from any American version I’ve heard but still recognizable.