The Wedding Broom

The Wedding Broom (mp3) (pdf)

This is a simple tune that I've played to myself many times over the last couple of years. It falls under the hand easily on the mandolin and has a certain haunting quality for me. It's never been played out in public. I was quite surprised when I looked it up in an old notebook from 2005 and saw that it was dated February 18.

I only had one pass at recording the guitar track because ten seconds after I finished it our neighbor fired up his snowblower. It hasn't snowed here for a couple of days and his sidewalk is as clean as a whistle. I was tempted to give the tune a title related to that annoyance but instead settled on a title in honor of our old broom that we bought decades ago at Shakertown in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. We've got a newer one now but this one has character. Kind of like our neighbor I suppose.

Sebec Fair, Smalltown Downtown

Sebec Fair (mp3) (pdf)
Smalltown Downtown (mp3) (pdf)

Summer 2003 during our visit to Maine we spent an idyllic afternoon at a fair in the village of Sebec. We heard some lovely music (the band played in the gazebo in the photo) while relaxing in the sun and this tune followed a day or two later. I wrote it to be played at a relaxed pace but yesterday I recorded it at more of a contra dance tempo. Probably because I just played at our local dance the night before.

Every year about this time I have the pleasure of accompanying several of Erik Sessions' violin students during their student recital. We have a rehearsal at the studio where Erik teaches which is on the second floor above Kephart's music store in the heart of downtown Decorah.

Two or three years ago I wrote a waltz (now titled "Aubrey and Andrew's Wedding") during the breaks between students at this rehearsal while looking out of the window down onto Water Street. This year another waltz popped up which I'm calling "Smalltown Downtown".

Both of these tunes were recorded on Sunday morning, Feb. 11 using my Pomeroy mandolin.