Featured in this article are three tunes collected from English fiddle player Debbie Chalmers. Debbie visited St. John's in mid August this year and through a connection with Jean Hewson, was put in touch with some local session players. Despite valiant attempts at a decent session of traditional music, as often happens, the tune Gods were against us…as were a rugby team, a fussy baby and just plain bad timing! Fortunately, we had the opportunity to chat with and show Debbie around for the better part of a day just before she left to go home and were quite glad we did. Debbie is a music student in Bedforshire, England studying classical viola and violin. However, this young woman is also a true exponent of traditional English music. Her repertoire includes a large array of trad Irish session tunes but also features many old English pieces from various parts of the country (and now hopefully a few Newfoundland tunes!).

The first tune, a hornpipe named The Rusty Gulley*, is from Northumbria - the border region of England and Scotland. Debbie learned this tune from Nancy Kerr (fiddle) who is one of the main exponents of Northumbrian music today. You will notice that the time signature of this tune is different from the "usual" for hornpipes - 3/2 rather than 4/4. Debbie says this is a characteristic of northern English tunes (the only place in England where you will find them in fact). It is also common in Swedish tunes. It seems to have come from the Baroque era when musicians played for the aristocratic dances. Debbie suggested that the tune came either from a published collection of English dance tunes from the 1600s or was handed down through the general folk scene.

The second tune named Shropshire Rounds is also a 3/2 hornpipe and was collected from a famous English melodeon player John Kilpatrick.
The third tune, a jig, named the Morgan Rattler is a Morris tune from the Oxford region of England. Debbie got this tune from English fiddle player John Spears.

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* A gulley is a knife for cutting meat.