Phil Cunningham Accordion Composition On BBC Sounds

[temryd]

I found this Phil Cunningham accordion composition on BBC3 Sounds Breakfast Show this a.m. with Ryan Corbett as the performer: "Loch Katrine's Lady".....very engaging tune....

I thought others in the forum might enjoy it as well. Link below. Starts at about 55:40 on the program listing.

Breakfast - Boost your morning with classical - BBC Sounds

Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3’s award-winning classical breakfast show.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[craigd]

Great tune writer and accordionist. Thanks for the link

 

[ColoRodney]

Dots available at the session.org if you want to play it.

 

[OuijaBoard]

That's a spiffy one. The Scottish group I play with does the latter two Phil Cunningham tunes in this set, the jigs "Gillies' Taxis" and "The Double Rise." He has quite an impressive batting average as a tunesmith.

 

[Walker]

This is so good...



Am I right or am I right?

 

[Tom]

This is so good...



Am I right or am I right?

Sublime.

 

[Walker]

Sublime music indeed...

Phil Cunningham's compositions, particularly his slow airs, like the one above, are a breath of fresh air and were pioneering when he wrote them because they were beautiful, stylish and had subtly colourful left hand harmonisations and progressions that suited the accordion. Of course, the fiddle was (and still is) the master instrument for slow airs, and tunes like The Music of Spey by James Scott Skinner are monuments to the best of Scottish music.

However, with the gradual implementation of free bass into styles outside of classical music, the accordion can raise the bar, with the musical layering and polyphony it allows, without the usual mechanical 'dragging' of prefixed chords.

Ryan Corbett absolutely knocked it out of the park with his interpretation of Cunningham's tune. This version of the piece would not be playable on a standard bass accordion. There are not many people who could play what he arranged, and certainly not with the musicality and understanding he has for the tune. Could Corbett be the best accordionist in Britain? Probably!

He's not the only accordionist implementing free bass into non-classical music. Rune Barslund's been arranging traditional tunes for free bass accordion for a long time now:

Here's his version of The Music of Spey​

 

[Tom]

Sublime music indeed...

Phil Cunningham's compositions, particularly his slow airs, like the one above, are a breath of fresh air and were pioneering when he wrote them because they were beautiful, stylish and had subtly colourful left hand harmonisations and progressions that suited the accordion. Of course, the fiddle was (and still is) the master instrument for slow airs, and tunes like The Music of Spey by James Scott Skinner are monuments to the best of Scottish music.

However, with the gradual implementation of free bass into styles outside of classical music, the accordion can raise the bar, with the musical layering and polyphony it allows, without the usual mechanical 'dragging' of prefixed chords.

Ryan Corbett absolutely knocked it out of the park with his interpretation of Cunningham's tune. This version of the piece would not be playable on a standard bass accordion. There are not many people who could play what he arranged, and certainly not with the musicality and understanding he has for the tune. Could Corbett be the best accordionist in Britain? Probably!

He's not the only accordionist implementing free bass into non-classical music. Rune Barslund's been arranging traditional tunes for free bass accordion for a long time now:

Here's his version of The Music of Spey​

Incredible, you have some great examples as usual Stewart! I love his wood case Scandalli, how it matches his jacket. Fine video production too. . But I thought either saundersbp or you were the best accordionist in Britain….

 

[Walker]

Incredible, you have some great examples as usual Stewart! I love his wood case Scandalli, how it matches his jacket. Fine video production too.

Rune's a great player and has an awesome accordion.

But I thought either saundersbp or you were the best accordionist in Britain….

No buddy, sorry, not me. - but that's okay, we can be inspired by the great players. I mean listen to how crisp Corbett's grace notes are and his super bellows control. There's lots to learn from.

 

[Tom]

Rune's a great player and has an awesome accordion.



No buddy, sorry, not me. - but that's okay, we can be inspired by the great players. I mean listen to how crisp Corbett's grace notes are and his super bellows control. There's lots to learn from.

Definitely! Yeah, I learn an awful lot from the videos posted on here. That’s most of the music I hear these days. That’s the beauty of retirement, you have so much more time to learn. In addition to learning new tunes I’m learning ear training on Chet and French on Duolingo while watching the turkeys walk through the yard. (Not the tourists, the real ones…).