The Fiddler of Ballykeel, for string orchestra

Composer: GETTY, Gordon
  • “The Fiddler of Ballykeel” comes from Getty’s suite Traditional Pieces.
  • Versions also exist for piano, chamber ensemble, or orchestra.

“‘Fiddler’ is strictly diatonic throughout. Since the tunes seemed Irish when they occurred to me, I harmonized them mostly in fourths and fifths. Then I needed a title. My own patronymic ancestors appear to have come from a suburb of Belfast call Ballymoney. Since ‘The Fiddler of Ballymoney’ by Getty might raise unintended nuances, I moved my ancestors a few miles away to Ballykeel.”

Getty, on “Fiddler of Ballykeel”1

Sources

  1. “Traditional Pieces,” GordonGetty.com, accessed October 9, 2019, https://www.gordongetty.com/compositions/traditional-pieces.

Cut IDs

16010