He rises and begins to round,
He drops the silver chain of sound
Of many links without a break,
In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake,
For singing till his heaven fills,
’T is love of earth that he instils,
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup,
And he the wine which overflows
To lift us with him as he goes
Till lost on his aërial rings
In light, and then the fancy sings.
The most famous Scottish fiddler of the 18th century, Niel Gow, composed eighty seven fiddle tunes in his lifetime that became staples of Scottish country dance music. Niel was actually recognized as a legend during his lifetime (a rare occurrence for artist types) and considered the best fiddler in his home county of Perthshire, a region in Scotland known for its musicians. Middle-aged, widowed Niel married Margaret Urquhart after his first wife’s death and enjoyed a happy marriage with Margaret until her death when he was 78. The heartbroken fiddler put down his instrument after his wife’s passing, and was only persuaded to return to it at the insistence of his family. He composed his “Lament to the Death of His Second Wife” upon returning to his instrument. The yearning and bittersweet quality of the air attests to the depth of his grief and love for Margaret.
Jascha Heifetz had a tradition of performing a piece from the region or country in which he was giving a concert. When he was scheduled to perform in Mexico City in 1923, he realized he didn’t have anything written by a Mexican composer. But on the day of the performance, he heard the beloved “Estrellita” performed by a singer in a café. Heifetz then and there composed an arrangement of the song for violin and piano (on his napkin!), performed it that evening, and it became one of his favorite encores.
