What if a brilliant and famous musician—wealthy and admired across
the globe—began to dream of building a perfect society, a meticulously
planned colony of daring individualists? Thousands of dreamers all united
by a common desire for freedom and opportunity, a willingness to work
hard, and a love of fine music and high culture. One hundred and fifty
years ago, legendary Norwegian violinist Ole Bull (1810–1880) attempted
to build such a utopia, and succeeded—for one brief shining moment.
The colony was called New Norway and sometimes Oleana—a fusing
of Ole and Anna, the name of Bull's mother—and it was established
in 1852 in Southern Potter County, Pennsylvania, which is celebrating
the colony's sesquicentennial.
Bull, a proud Norwegian regarded as one of the world's greatest violinists,
imagined that his colony would one day be peopled with thousands—possibly
hundreds of thousands—of fellow Norwegians, fugitives from a country
suffering under a devastating economic depression. The history of Oleana
is a fascinating story, and the fact that Bull's grand ambition ultimately
failed only heightens the drama and heartbreaking poignancy of that
story.
In Paul Heimel's fact-crammed new book Oleana: The Ole Bull Colony
(Knox Books, 220 pps., $12.95, ISBN 0-9655-8242-6), the author—who
lives in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, a short hike from the long-deserted,
tombstone-studded remains of Oleana/New Norway—attempts to discover
what exactly went wrong with Ole Bull's big dream.
The answer: What didn't go wrong?
It's clear from Heimel's exhaustive research, comfortably spun into
a compelling series of tales and speculations, that Bull was a mighty
performer. He was a master musician with enough stage presence and personal
charm to persuade a thousand countrymen to immigrate to the forested
wilderness of America. But Bull was not good at the mundane tasks of
funding, building, and sustaining a brand-new society. For example,
he underestimated the depth of his own pockets, and almost immediately
had to renege on his offer to pay settlers a monthly stipend until they
had sufficiently established themselves in Oleana. Few New Norwegians
ever saw their first payment, and the once-wealthy Bull was forced into
long concert tours just to keep Oleana up and running. In addition,
the colony was established on land that did not technically belong to
Bull. According to Heimel, the classically trained violinist was confused
by certain arcane details of property law, and his followers were forced
to pay for the property themselves, or to abandon it. Ultimately, almost
all of them did just that, pulling up stakes and moving on.
The beauty of the Oleana story is not in such details—no matter
how fascinating. What makes the story good is that Bull's vision of
a new world was so great, if misguided and innocent and even a bit foolish.
As Heimel shows in his remarkable book, the amazing power that Bull
commanded—both on a concert stage and in the hills of a brave New
World—was nothing less than the power to summon dreams out of thin
air. Knox Books, 407 Mill St., Coudersport, PA 16915.
Forget Me Not: A Collection of 50 Memorable Irish Traditional Tunes
by Séamus Connolly and Laurel Martin. Mel Bay. 132 pps., 2 CDs,
$24.95, ISBN 0-7866-5716-2.
Irish Fiddle Playing by John Phillip Berthoud. Mel Bay. 88 pps.,
with CD, $19.95, ISBN 0-7866-5999-8.
All-Ireland Fiddle Champion Séamus Connolly is the director
of the Irish Studies Music, Song and Dance program at Boston College,
and his one-time student, Laurel Martin, is now an adjunct professor
of music in the program. In Forget Me Not, Connolly and Martin
have collected 50 Irish tunes of all sorts—jigs, reels, hornpipes,
set dances, marches, and airs. This assortment provides a balanced cross
section of the forms typically found in the traditional repertoire.
A few are standard "seisiun" tunes that seasoned players might already
know, but many are uncommon gems, rarely heard.
One jig, "The Meelick Team" is presented in D minor and also in E minor,
as it occurs in the repertoire in both keys. (Again, a thoughtful inclusion
of a typical form.) Each tune is written and recorded two ways: first
in its most basic, unornamented form, and again with ornaments and variations
suggested by the authors. The authors are adamant that the ornamented
versions are not definitive, but that students might use the way they've
ornamented each tune as a guide to generate their own ideas for ornaments
to the tunes.
The tunes are recorded at fairly slow tempos; the ornamented versions
are slightly faster than the basic ones. The single-tune tracks (102
of them!) feature two fiddles with no additional accompaniment, and
span the better part of two included CDs. At the end of the second disc,
a few tunes are recorded again, arranged in sets (medleys), and played
at more common performance speeds, with additional instruments accompanying
the fiddles. The tunes appear in alphabetical order by title, and CD
track numbers are included at the top of each written tune for easy
cross-reference. Connolly provides reminiscences and historical notes
on each tune at the back of the book. While in part written for Connolly's
and Martin's own fiddle students, Forget Me Not is a fine source
of unusual repertoire for any player wanting to delve into Irish music.
Berthoud's Irish Fiddle Playing focuses on Irish fiddling techniques,
including introductory sections devoted to proper posture and attitude,
suggested bowing patterns, details on how to produce ornaments, and
engaging, whimsical little reminders. (At one point, you turn a page
to find only the words "Slow Down!" in 72-point bold type.) Although
some of these friendly hints seem geared toward beginners, Berthoud
states early on that he intends the book as a guide for those who already
play the instrument.
Indeed, there are many suggestions directed to classical players, including
the all-important warning that written music is just a guide—that
listening to and reproducing the sound is at least as important as reading
notes out of a book. The written music includes an assortment of well-known
traditional tunes—jigs, reels, and a few hornpipes from the standard
Irish repertoire—plus a few of Berthoud's own compositions.
There are 29 tunes in all, two of which are presented in two different
keys. Even the traditional tunes carry Berthoud's distinctive stamp,
and the author devotes some verbiage to the concept of finding your
own sound and making the music your own.
Each tune includes introductory notes on the particular techniques
that might be practiced. However, most of the tunes recorded on the
CD are markedly different from the written versions. It's not simply
the usual case of written music offering a bare skeleton while the recorded
performance includes ornamentation: There are significant variations
that might confound the uninitiated student attempting to follow along.
Berthoud does note this difference up front, again admonishing
the reader to rely at least as much on listening as on reading.
The corresponding track numbers for the tunes are listed only in the
table of contents, so you may have to flip some pages to keep your place.
(One pair of tunes appears out of order: Tracks 8 and 28 apparently
were swapped on the recording.) As noted in the table of contents, ten
tunes are recorded again at the end of the disc in versions that more
closely match what's written.
Although I'd prefer such a tutor to provide more written music that
matches the accompanying recording, classical violinists interested
in the finer points of Irish fiddling might learn a thing or two from
this one.
—Elisa M. Welch
The Rough Guide to Cello by Hugo Pinsterboer. Rough Guides Ltd.
(62–70 Shorts Gardens, London WC2H 9AH), 129 pps., $14.50, ISBN1-8582-8722-7.
The Rough Guides have been churning out essential tip books
for several years on topics ranging from travel and phrase books to
music and reference books. The newest edition highlights the cello.
This handy guide includes a wealth of information in an easy-to-access
format.
The book begins with a simple introduction to the instrument, including
a "quick tour" of the cello's parts and bow. Ensuing sections include
information on learning how to play, what to look for when buying and
renting, tips for finding the best cello for your budget and skill level,
accessories, maintenance, cello history, how a cello is made, and a
list of current brands and makers.
One of the best parts of The Guide is the combined glossary
and index at the back of the book, which defines important terms and
provides page numbers on which they are discussed. A list of resources
follows the glossary and includes valuable publications and Internet
links, as well as information on where to find teachers and repairers
in your area.
The perfect edition to a beginning player's bookshelf, The Rough
Guide to Cello will also fit inside any player's case for quick
reference.
—Heather K. Scott
