Angeline the Baker

Jan 16, 2018 | Blog, Christopher J Music

I have a book called “The Fiddler’s Fakebook” left over from my aborted attempt at learning to play the violin/fiddle. I never got rid of the book because I love a lot of the music in there and find it enjoyable to play on the guitar.

My recording of “Angeline the Baker” is an arrangement I created of an old time fiddle tune based on a song called Angelina Baker written by Stephen Foster for the Christy Minstrels, and published in 1850. The original laments the loss of a woman slave, sent away by her owner. The melody of the fiddle tune, Angeline the Baker differs from the Stephen Foster version.

In my arrangement and instrumentation in this recording I spiced it up and added a bit of country flavor!  See my music page to buy a copy of Angeline the Baker.

According to Wikipedia, Lyle Lofgren, writing for Inside Bluegrass, publication of the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association, “Foster published Angelina Baker in 1850, and it was featured on stage by the original Christy Minstrels.” The melody and lyrics to the original Angelina Baker are:

Angeline the baker lives in our village green,
The way I always loved her beats all you ever seen.

Chorus
Angeline the baker, her age is forty-three,
I bought her candy by the peck, and she won’t marry me.

Chorus

Her father is the miller, they call him Uncle Sam.
I never will forget her, unless I take a dram.

Chorus

Angeline is handsome, Angeline is tall,
They say she sprained her ankle a-dancing at the ball.

Chorus

She can’t do hard work because she is not stout,
She bakes her biscuits every day, and pours the coffee out.

Chorus

I’ll never marry no other girl, no matter where I go.
I said I’d marry Angeline just twenty years ago.

Chorus

The last time I saw her was at the county fair.
Her father run me almost home and told me to stay there.

Chorus

But then, making the history of this tune even more interesting is this comment that was posted on Mudcat.org:

There is a recording of “Angeline the Baker” on the Folk-Legacy CD, “The New Golden Ring: Five Days Singing.” Lyrics are the same as what’s in the Digital Tradition database. Here’s what the CD notes say:

This is an old Eck Dunford tune with possible Negro origins. Frank George, fiddler from West Virginia, calls it “Angeline” and gives it Scottish overtones. In some parts of West Virginia it is called “Angeline Baker,” thus causing some friction between fiddlers when it is played. The tune was played only as an instrumental; the words are a comparatively recent addition. There is a Stephen Foster song called “Angelina Baker,” and the tune may have some derivision from that, or perhaps it’s the other way around. (notes by Sara Grey)

 

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Do you have a child with autism?

Jan 9, 2018 | Blog, Health

My wife and I raised a child with special needs and autism and have over 20 years of experience with issues from infancy to adulthood.  If you have a child with autism I’d love to hear from you to share your stories and share our lessons learned.

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DB-19 How to Rosin New Bow Hair

Jan 5, 2018 | Blog, Double Bass Beginner’s Course, Lessons

This is lesson DB-19 How to Rosin New Bow Hair, and is a continuation of my journal of things I have learned as an adult double bass student.  See the video for a few pointers.

Watch The Video Lesson

Here is what I know about how to rosin a bow. First of all, I use Kolstein “Ultra Bass Rosin”, soft grade. I have tried several other types of rosin, and so far Kolstein is my favorite. I comes in a nice silicone case inside the outer cardboard case which keeps it fresh. I have my rosin for over a year and I haven’t noticed any degradation yet. Before you rosin your bow, if the rosin is new, you can rough up the surface first with some sandpaper.

I just got my bass bow re-haired. It is a Brazilian Pernambuco wood bow that I purchased from my bass teacher and I like it a lot. It is definitely better than the beginner bow that came with my bass! I think it is at least 20 years old, but it is in excellent shape.

Before you start to rosin your bow, first tighten the nut on the bow to about the tension you use when you play. Don’t over tighten it. Also be careful to not put your fingers or hands on the bow hair since the oil from your skin will get on the hair. All you want on the hair is rosin.

Now, hold the bow with the hair side up and put your thumb over the metal piece on the frog where the hair attaches. That will prevent the rosin cake from getting cracked when you apply the rosin.

Begin apply the rosin to the bow hair in short strokes about 3 inches long. I work one area at a time until I can feel the rosin begin to stick. I also work side to side to be sure the whole surface of the hair gets covered with rosin. Once the first area feels thoroughly covered, move on to the next 3 inch section and repeat the process. You might be able to see the rosin on the hair, but I can’t. I just go by feel. Once you are done with each section, go over the whole bow with rosin a few times. If you pull the rosin slowly from frog to the tip and feel some spots where it feels slippery, add some more rosin to those spots.

If you play your instrument and the bow seems to just slide over the strings and/or not give you much sound, you need more rosin. If on the other hand you see all kind of rosin dust falling off onto your instrument that means you have way too much rosin on the hair. If you have too much rosin, you can try wiping the hair down with a clean cloth. Again, don’t use your bare hands on the hair.

Don’t forget to loosen the nut on your bow after you are done playing to take the tension off the hair and protect your bow from damage.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

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Phantom of the Opera

Nov 5, 2017 | Blog, Christopher J Music

Here’s a little video clip of a medley from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera being performed by the Evergreen Community Orchestra of Everett, Washington on Halloween evening!

Here is the plot summary as summarized by the all knowing Wikipedia:

Plot summary[edit]
In the 1890’s in Paris, the Palais Garnier is believed to be haunted by an entity known as the Phantom or the Opera Ghost. One day, the stagehand, Joseph Buquet, is found hanged, presumably by the Phantom, after boasting about him to the corps de ballet. At the same time, Christine Daaé, a young Swedish soprano, has been tutored by what she believes to be the Angel of Music, sent by her deceased father. On the night of the gala performance for the old manager’s retirement, Christine is called upon to sing in the place of the Opera’s leading soprano, Carlotta, who is ill, and her performance is an astonishing success. The Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, who was present at the performance, recognises her as his childhood playmate, and recalls his love for her. He attempts to visit her backstage, where he hears a man speaking to her from inside her dressing room. He investigates the room once Christine leaves, only to find that there’s no one else in the room.

At Perros-Guirec, Christine meets with Raoul, who confronts her about the voice he heard in her room. Christine tells him about the Angel that has been tutoring her, but he is skeptical and suggests that she might be the victim of a prank. Hurt and angry, she storms off. Christine visits her father’s grave one night, where a mysterious figure appears and plays the violin for her. Raoul attempts to confront it but is attacked and knocked out in the process.

Back at the Palais Garnier, the managers receive a letter from the Opera Ghost, demanding that they allow Christine to perform the lead role of Marguerite in Faust, and that box 5 be left empty for his use, lest they perform in a house with a curse on it. The managers ignore his demands, resulting in disastrous consequences: Carlotta ends up croaking like a toad, and the chandelier suddenly drops into the audience, killing the new concierge. The Phantom, having abducted Christine from her dressing room, reveals himself as Erik, a deformed former conjuror who lives in the cellars beneath the opera house, and that he has been the one tutoring her. Erik intends to keep her in his lair with him for a few days, but she causes him to change his plans when she unmasks him and, to the horror of both, beholds his noseless, lipless, sunken-eyed face which resembles a skull dried up by the centuries, covered in yellowed dead flesh.

Fearing that she will leave him, he decides to keep her with him forever, but when Christine requests release after two weeks, he agrees on condition that she wear his ring and be faithful to him. On the roof of the opera house, Christine tells Raoul about her abduction, and makes Raoul promise to take her away to a place where Erik can never find her, even if she resists. Raoul tells Christine he will act on his promise the next day, to which she agrees. However, Christine sympathises with Erik, and decides to sing for him one last time as a means of saying good-bye. Unbeknownst to Christine and Raoul, Erik has been watching them and overheard their whole conversation.

The following night, the enraged and jealous Erik abducts Christine during a production of Faust, and tries to force her to marry him. Raoul, along with an old acquaintance of Erik’s, known as the Persian, attempt to rescue her but are trapped by Erik, who threatens that unless Christine agrees to marry him, he will kill them and everyone in the Opera House by using explosives. To save themselves and the people above in the Opera, Christine agrees to marry Erik. Erik initially tries to drown Raoul and the Persian, using the water which would have been used to douse the explosives. But Christine begs and offers to be his “living bride”, promising him not to kill herself after becoming his bride, as she had both contemplated and attempted earlier in the novel. Erik eventually releases Raoul and the Persian from his torture chamber.

When Erik is alone with Christine, he lifts his mask to kiss her on her forehead, and is given a kiss back. Erik reveals that he has never received a kiss (not even from his own mother) nor has been allowed to give one and is overcome with emotion. He and Christine then cry together and their tears “mingle”. Erik later says that he has never felt so close to another human being. He allows the Persian and Raoul to escape, though not before making Christine promise that she will visit him on his death day, and return the gold ring he gave her. He also makes the Persian promise that afterwards he will go to the newspaper and report his death, as he will die soon and will die “of love”. Indeed, some time later Christine returns to Erik’s lair, buries him somewhere he will never be found (by Erik’s request) and returns the gold ring. Afterwards, a local newspaper runs the simple note: “Erik is dead”.

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