GrahamChildsplay (on MySpace) is a group of musicians covering a wide range of folk music styles, and connected by one thing: they all play a fiddle made by Bob Childs of Cambridge, MA. I don't know how they got the idea (or managed the logistics) to build a band around that, but they did, and it works. Enough members are multi-instrumentalists that they still have a very rich sound (so it's not too fiddle-heavy).
Their first album was called The Great Waltz, and is actually made up entirely of waltzes. The second one is Heaven and Earth, and is more of a mix of stuff while still having some nice dance tunes. (Both albums are also available on eMusic and iTunes.)
I was measuring the BPM for the ones I wanted to mention here and realized that I didn't have any standard tempo rotary waltzes. All the fast waltzes of theirs that I like are right up there at the top end of the range. I like them that way, though some folks may want to edit them for speed and/or duration. I put the BPM in parentheses after each one.
Cross-Step
- Sunday River (114) As much as I like this one, you could probably edit out a time through the tune to make it a better dance length.
- Michael's Mazurka (119) Don't be fooled by the name -- there's nothing mazurky about it, but it's a beautiful cross-step. Also quite long (5:28) but totally worth it. One of my favorites.
- Enrichez Vous! (122)
- Waltz of the White Lilies (123) Another one on the long side, but lovely.
- The Great Waltz of China (124) Lots of pseudo-oriental harmonies to go with the pun.
- La Valser Di Mezzanotte (180) I like the variations within this one; it gives you plenty to play with.
- Tristesse (182) A bit jazzier than the others.
- Kuivatusaluevalssi (182) Gotta love those Finnish names. Also the double bass.
- Valse De Bethmale (188) This one is probably just too relaxed-sounding for the speed, but if you're really good at efficient waltzing, you could make it a trance waltz. Just felt like putting it on here, but it's probably not for everyone.
2 comments:
Regarding Valse De Bethmale, you could waltz in a syncopated rhythm:
L : 123
R : 12
L : 3
R : 123
L : 12
R : 3
Alas, blogger doesn't seem to allow tags to specify to use a fixed width font. So, my preferred method doesn't display well:
1 2 3 1 2 3
L R L
R L R
From the sample, it seems to fit nicely, too.
Ah, yes, I'd forgotten about that variation. Excellent suggestion. Thanks for pointing it out!
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