Hi all -
Looking for anyone who is willing to send me a clip of The Gravel Walk (four part reel) so that I can learn to play it. I already have a clip from tinwhistler.com but I like to get a sampling of different players for a given tune, if possible.
So if you can play this tune well enough to be comfortable at session, and would be willing to send me a clip, please let me know! Alternately, if you know of this tune on any good CDs, I’d like to know about that too.
Michael Eskin recorded a lovely rendition of it in Bb accompanied by an octave mandolin.
http://www.uptospeed.net/mp3/eskin/tunes/GravelWalk.mp3
There are at least two versions in the “Reels” section of the Clips & Snips archive:
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/
I seem to recall that James had it somewhere on his site at http://www.flutesite.com but couldn’t find it when I looked (his links are associated with the instrument he played it on, rather than putting all the clips in one place) - you might find it if you dig around a bit (I enjoyed his clip enough to play it repeatedly).
Beth, I recorded this for you tonight:
http://www.flutesite.com/samples/gravel_seery.mp3
Sorry if it sounds a bit fuzzy; I’m trying to get over a summer cold.
I hope it helps and you get lots of good recordings. It’s a great tune.
–James
Edited: As DCrom notes, I did used to have a recording of it on the Susato low whistle. For all my fuzzy headedness tonight, I still think this recording is much better and a truer setting. Fortunately, I routinely cycle out the oldest recordings, and the ones I don’t feel are played particularly well. The Susato clip was unfortunately one of the latter. But I do thank you for the kind comments!
Edited yet again: I have gone back and relistened to the old Susato low D recording, and it’s not nearly so bad as I remembered it, so I’m putting it back up:
http://www.flutesite.com/samples/gravelly.mp3
I think if nothing else it shows the Susato Low D in a good light.
–James
Does anybody have some webspace to spare or can your email handle the bytes, avanutria? I’ll be in Seattle tomorrow (Wednesday) but I can have a recording ready Thursday or Friday.
I’ve played this tune on flute and Highland pipes and I find it to be more rhythmic than melodic, even for a reel.
Matt Molloy naturally plays a cracking version on his album, Stony Steps. It is also included in Grey Larsen’s "Essentially Massive Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle.
Cheers,
Aaron
Go to the BBC Virtual Session site - the version there is played by a whole group of musicians in a sessions setting, so you get chords, nice rhythm, diff instruments, the works.
Good suggestion, tuaz. Here’s the link.
Cheers,
Aaron
Here’s a clip by “Kelly, O’Brien, and Sproule,” from the album “Traditional Music Of Ireland.” Originally recorded in 1982. I got it from eMusic, I cut it short and recompressed it to make it smaller (about 400K):
Yahoo mail boosted their storage to 100 MB recently, I can handle the files. 