Old-Time TOTW

Old-Time TOTW #383 is “The Cuckoo” from the playing of Williamson Hamblen (3 October 1846—4 January 1920). He was born in Hamblen Creek, Lee County, VA, to David Russell Hamblen (1809-1893) and Ruth Ramsey (1813-1874). Their ancestor James Hamblen came to Barnstable, MA, from Devon, England, in 1639, and the family was in Virginia by the late 1770s. Williamson married Eunice Lorena Collins (1856-1946) in 1875. (source: Ancestry and public documents)

Williamson’s father, David, was a fiddler as well. Tunes from both of them were transcribed by Williamson’s son, Armeanous Porter Hamblen (1875-1958) and John Marshall Gillaspy (1877-1952). Armeanous played the fiddle and composed songs and instrumental pieces, one of which is found in the Hamblen collection. See Old-Time TOTW #363: The Spirit of David R.    • Old-Time TOTW #363: The Spirit of David R....  

Gillaspy was David Hamblen’s great nephew. He and his brother, Richard, were professional musicians. John composed music as well, and was known in his day for having composed a march, “Culver Black Horse Troop,” which was played extensively by military bands.

Williamson Hamblen is said to have stood six feet, six inches tall and played the violin well.

“The Cuckoo” has characteristics of an early country dance, possibly from England. I made up the second fiddle part. Cuckoos have played a role in human culture for thousands of years, appearing in Greek mythology as sacred to the goddess Hera. In Europe, the cuckoo is associated with spring, and with cuckoldry. Many bawdy English songs and stage plays from the 16th and 17th century featured themes of cuckoldry, such as Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost (mid-1590s) and William Wycherley's The Country Wife (1673).

My book, Marion Thede and the Fiddlers of Oklahoma: The Fiddle Book, The Musicians and Their Tunes is now available from McFarland & Company: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/ma...

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Paul Kirk has been playing bowed string instruments since 1980 and has been teaching them privately, in classroom settings, and in workshop formats since 1988. He studied music theory, composition, music education, music history, and musicology at Cleveland State University. While at CSU, Paul played violas da gamba, krummhorns, and recorders in early music ensembles. He was a founding member of Good Company: A Vocal Ensemble and has founded many of his own bands over the years including A Hundred Thousand Welcomes Celtic Ensemble, Knives and Forks English Country Dance Ensemble, and Down the Road Old-Time String Band. He has composed over 500 folk tunes in a variety of styles.

Paul has closely studied the music from Appalachia, the history of American old-time fiddling, source fiddlers, as well as the social aspects of the music. Since July 1, 2018, he has been creating and sharing videos each Sunday through his Old-Time Tune of the Week series on YouTube. Paul puts a great focus on fiddle bowing patterns and techniques and has devised practical methods for teaching with excellent results. One of his specialties is teaching old-time fiddle to crossover students, especially those coming from a background in classical violin and other musical traditions.

Paul taught viola, choir, music history, and assisted with drama and art for ten consecutive summers at orchestra and fine arts camps for The Music Settlement when it was known as Cleveland Music School Settlement.