Megan Lynch Chowning calls her new project, Something Old New Borrowed Blue, a “raw fiddle album.” Whatever could that mean?
Well it’s not un-or-undercooked, bloody or beaten. It turns out that the album is given to unaccompanied fiddle, allowing her to merge her two musical passions, teaching and performing, into a single vehicle.
Chowning’s Fiddle Star camps have been very well attended for years, and over the course of her career, she has guided the path for a number of talented young players who have gone on to win prestigious competitions. She’s won many of them herself, and is regularly called upon to serve as a judge.
The tunes on Something Old New Borrowed Blue are played at a measured tempo, perfect for learning, while also recalling the days when an old time square dance meant a fiddle, a caller and the members of a rural community – not a synchronized dance troupe set to a rip-roaring’ fiddle tune.
Most of the ones Megan has chosen are favorites like Chinquapin Hunting, Ookpik Waltz, Bonaparte’s Retreat, Sally Ann, and Cuckoo’s Nest, along with some less well known numbers and at least one new one. Being played without a backing band makes it easier for students of old time and bluegrass fiddle to clearly hear the melodies, and take a stab at learning them from the recording.
From the Fiddle Star web site you can hear samples from several of the selections, order the CD to be shipped, or purchase any or all of the tunes for download.
While you’re there, you can find information about her various music camps, and online private lessons.
The music may be raw, but it’s plenty refined.
