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Mazeppa, by Joe Morley -- one of his most challenging and virtuosic solos, which showcases some very difficult chromatic runs and thumb-index passages. Apparently, Old Joe played this piece to great success in the London Banjo Club where it was recieved enthusiastically, but as far as I know it has never been recorded -- until now!
There are three big mistakes in my performance, but I wear them like a badge of honour!
(Why this piece is called like a Ukrainian cossack hetman is beyond me).
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yes you didn 't choosed the more simple to play ; a good performance ; on more tune to link in front of the score ; bravo Mike ;
Hey Mike - great job; I think this might be my favorite recording of yours ...
"Mazeppa" was an opera by Tchaikovsky...which premiered in 1884. Maybe Joe saw it when it came to England. Now I gotta go find the opera and see if he purloined anything offa Pete Tchaikovsky...
Well done, btw. I like that you're willing to allow us in on your tour of obscure and difficult pieces.
Thanks, Marc, Marc and Adam!
The Tchaikovsky opera seems to be the only logical explanation; some passages might sound a little like a Cossack dance (it's a stretch, I know), but it doesn't sound very Ukrainian and I don't think Joe was much of a history buff.
I like discovering obscure stuff too... I tend to be biased towards solos I've already listened to but it's definitely an extra challenge to tackle something directly from the sheet music without having heard it.
Well, it looks like there is a TBj recording of Mazeppa out there somewhere (along with Popinjay Polka on the other side). The website doesn't specify the label, though.
8392 | Tarrant Bailey Jr | Popinjay (Joe Morley) - Polka - Banjo solo with Piano | 94775 *dp | ||
8392 | Tarrant Bailey Jr | Mazeppa (Joe Morley) - Banjo solo with Piano | 94773 *dp |
Clifford Essex sells a CD on which it's listed as on of the pieces:
http://cliffordessex.net/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=321
And, next time I'm in Utah, I'm eating here:
:)
Brilliant performance Mike. You and I play in two distinct ways! You make the hard ones look easy, and I make the easy ones look hard ;-)
Just how much practice do you do??? Do you ever get time to sleep?
I was wondering about the practice too, he said he was a beginner when he joined. Nice going Mike.
@Adam
Joe Morley's BBQ, excellent! If you do go there perhaps you should have a mixed grill.
@Ian and Sylvia
Thanks for the kind comments. Well, the hat does serve the purpose of blackening up one's face (cheaper than burnt cork!) and hides the gurning ;-)
I don't practice all that much, though to be fair I've been struggling with this one since september... so that's about five months before I could record Mazeppa with three mistakes!
One thing I have noticed on other instruments and which also applies to the banjo is that tackling pieces which are far too difficult for your skill level tends to act as a catalyzer as it forces you to learn daunting techniques early (or die trying).
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