Ashokan
Farewell
"Ashokan Farewell"
is a piece of music composed by Jay Ungar
in 1982. It has served as a goodnight or farewell waltz at the annual Ashokan Fiddle &
Dance Camps, run by the composer and his wife, at the lakefront campus (near Ashokan Reservoir) of the State University of New York at New Paltz. The tune was later used as the title theme of the 1990 PBS television miniseries, The
Civil War,[1]
as well as the 1991 compilation album, Songs
of the Civil War.
Background
The piece is a waltz in D major,
composed by Jay Ungar in the style of a Scottish
lament
(e.g., Niel Gow's "Lament for his second wife"). The most famous arrangement
of the piece begins with a solo violin, later accompanied by guitar and upright bass.
Before its use as the television
series theme, "Ashokan Farewell" was recorded on Waltz of the Wind,
the second album by the band Fiddle Fever. The musicians included Ungar and his
wife, Molly Mason, who gave the tune its name. It has served as a goodnight or
farewell waltz at the annual Ashokan Music & Dance Camps [1] that Ungar and Mason run at the Ashokan Center [2] in the Catskill Mountains of New York.[2]
The tune was also used on the TV
series The Twilight Zone
in 1986, in an episode titled "Shadow Play", about a death-row inmate
who claimed that reality was but a figment of his never-ending nightmare.
Ashokan was the name of a Catskill Region village[2]
that is now mostly covered by the Ashokan Reservoir.
Use
in Civil War TV series
In 1984, filmmaker Ken Burns
heard "Ashokan Farewell" and was moved by it. He used it in two of
his films: The Civil War, which features the original recording by
Fiddle Fever in the beginning of the film, and his 1985 documentary Huey
Long.
The Civil War drew the most national attention to the piece. It is played
25 times throughout the eleven-hour series,[2]
including during the emotional reading of Sullivan Ballou's
letter to his wife in the first episode; it underlies almost an hour of film.
Viewers of The Civil War
frequently and erroneously believe the melody is a traditional tune that was
played at the time of the Civil War. In fact, it is the only modern composition
on the Burns documentary's soundtrack; all other music is authentic
19th-century music.[3]
Other
versions
In 1994, Priscilla Herdman also released "Ashokan Farewell" on Forever
and Always, with lyrics by Grian Mac Gregor. Both Jay Ungar and Molly Mason
accompanied her.
Time for Three covered
"Ashokan Farewell" on We Just Burned this for You recorded
live at Bowling Green State University in Ohio January 13, 2006.
The British vocal band, Blake,
also covered "Ashokan Farewell" in their 2008 self-titled debut
album.
In the BBC America TV series,
"Copper"[4]
a key prop — a pocket watch that is a major clue in a murder — plays a version
of "Ashokan Farewell." The television show takes place in Five Points
of New York City in 1864, almost 120 years before the tune was written.
Electric violinist Bridgid Bibbens
covered "Ashokan Farewell" on her debut album Sugar&Steel
released in 2013.
Folk guitarist Tommy Emmanuel does a
version of Ashokan Farewell with his band which includes the drumming from the
Civil War time period, a standing bass, and a second harmony guitar. He also
recorded it on his rerelease of the album Terra Firma/Determination that he did
with his brother Phil Emmanuel.
The entire wiki article can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashokan_Farewell
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