Ed. here. Walt is still being seen by doctors who are unable to agree on what ails him. They are bandying about a theory that he's suffering from depression and exhaustion caused by constant exposure to dismaying news about the state of the Church and the state of the Union. It's possible. Consider the demise of Dr Hunter S. Thompson, whom Walt has long regarded as a role model. I (Ed.) say, don't do it, Walt!
In an effort to cheer Walt up -- laughter is the best medicine! -- Poor Len has sent a link to an unusual music video, the finale of the 2010 Pure Laine (geddit yet?) competition held that year at Pembroke in rural eastern Ontario, Canada. About two dozen fiddlers were required to play reels in turn, without stopping and without playing a reel that had already been played. In the finals, the fiddlers play only the "A" part of a reel -- only ten seconds. This clip shows the last minutes of the two-hour contest, with only three participants left: April Verch, Shane Cook and Danny Perreault. The judge, wearing a referee's shirt (natch) is René Dacier. Spoiler alert: the winner is... April Verch!
For a week encore, we see Danny Perreault playing Breakdown à Rosaire, one of his own compositions, while Germain Leduc accompanies him with a bit of stunt piano-playing. Walt loves this stuff and we hope readers will find it at least, errr, interesting. We challenge you to listen to it without tapping your feet!
Musicians out there who are interested in folk music, and old-timey fiddling in particular, can click here to see April Verch give a short demonstration of the different Canadian fiddle styles. Those who like Cajun fiddling will gain a better understanding of the link between Cajun music and the music of French Canada. American fiddle music, by contrast, descends from the music of Ireland and Scotland, which is all comes together in what Canucks call "Down East fiddling". But that differs from much of what you'll hear in Canada's western provinces, where there's a strong Ukrainian influence. I could go on... [Don't. Ed.]
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