Borderlands by Kathryn Tickell
Borderlands 1986
Kathryn Tickell – Northumbrian smallpipes, fiddle
Gerry Kaley – guitar on 3,4,8
Anth kaley – piano
Rod Clements – Fretless bass guitar, slide guitar
Mick Wright – guitar on 5,6
Martyn Bennett – Scottish smallpipes
Alistair Anderson – concertina
Martin Matthews – cittern
1. Mary the Maid is an old English tune which I found in the English Fiddlers Tunebook. Claudio’s Polka was written by Italian musician Claudio Bettega.
2. David’s Hornpipe is one of the tunes written by R Whinham. He was obviously pleased with his composition and in his manuscript it is accompanied by the following verse:
‘David with his harp played psalms
To win the Lord unto good terms,
But had he played this merry strain
He’d pleased the Lord as well again’
All three tunes in this set can be found in the manuscripts of the celebrated North Tyne fiddler ‘Kielder Jock’.
3. I first heard Sidlaw Hills played by ‘The Border Fiddler’ the late Tom Hughes. Lord Gordon’s Reel is a popular Irish tune. I wrote the Robson Reel for my mum’s side of the family - the Robsons are one of the oldest ‘graynes’ of North Tynedale.
4. Rothbury Hills is attributed to Jack Armstrong, who for many years held the post of the Piper to the Duke of Northumberland. Holey Ha’penny is an old Northumbrian tune, first recorded by ‘The Prince of Pipers’ Tom Clough.
5. The next set of tunes were among the first I ever wrote. Brafferton Village is in County Durham. The Grey Bull is a pub in the village of Wark-on-Tyne, where I have often played. I originally wrote the tune as a hornpipe but it also works as a waltz.
6. I wrote Stellgreen after hearing my grandfather tell of how he left school aged 13 to go to Stellgreen and help with the lambing. Roly Gentle was written in memory of a friend from Cambridge.
7. Loch Rannoch (J Wilson) and Troy’s Wedding (C Magee) were learnt from Martyn Bennett. His pipes, like the Northumbrian smallpipes, are bellows-blown, but they retain the distinctive Scottish sound.
8. Gypsy’s Lullaby is attrributed to Billy Pigg, one of the greatest Northumbrian pipers. The Tartar Frigate is one of the many good tunes written by Matt Seattle, a fiddle player from Blyth.
9. Alston is a small town high at the head of the South Tyne valley. This version of the hornpipe ‘Alston Flower Show’ comes from the playing of Billy Pigg. I was asked to write a tune for Wark Footbal team after they won the Northumberland Minor Cup. They asked for something “fast and flashy to suit their style of play!”
10. The Flowers of the Forest is a lament written after the Battle of Flodden. Near the battlefield stands a cross inscribed ‘To the Brave of Both Nations’.
Tracklist
Credits
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Kathryn Tickell is the foremost exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, a composer, performer, educator and successful recording artist whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape and people of Northumbria.