ajisai - Posted - 08/15/2014:  13:22:39

This week's selection is Dark Eyes Reel, a fiddle tune in D, composed by A. S. Bowman and published in The Young Violinist's Favorite, No. 1, A Collection of Popular Music as Follows: Mazurkas, Overtures, Straight Jigs, Marches, Quadrilles, Reels, Galops, Polkas, Selections, Irish Jigs, Waltzes, Lancers, Hornpipes, Schottisches by The Homan Publishing House, Chicago, in 1891. The book sold for years through the Sears catalog and reasonably-priced second-hand editions are pretty easy to find. I stumbled on a copy a few years ago at an antiques mall in Wisconsin.

Dark Eyes Reel is one of four reels included in the book. The others are Never Tired Reel (G), Little Kid Reel (D), and Happy Thought Reel (G).

It seems like tunes from a widely-distributed book would be learned, played, and passed on, but to date I've only found two mentions of Mr. Bowman's tunes associated with other musicians. According to Paul Tyler, Indiana fiddler Lotus Dickey played Never Tired Reel and Creighton's Hornpipe (also in the book). And Toivo Oksanen, a Minneapolis conductor, made handwritten copies of Never Tired Reel and Dark Eyes Reel for an unknown use in 1938.

The two other mentions of Bowman tunes that I was able to find Googling are below.

1) Never Tired Reel is included in the Traditional Tune Archive.

2) All four appear in Frolic and Fun: first grade pieces for piano by Walter Rolfe, published in 1922 by Boston Music Co.

I wasn't able to find any recordings of the reels online but you can listen to Creighton's Hornpipe here.

So, why did I choose Dark Eyes Reel for TOTW? For one rather whimsical reason: I like the B part. I don't think I know any other fiddle tune that uses the same slur-into-three-notes pattern and it seems to offer lots of space for variation. I also like that the pattern appears in at least one other tune in the book so, to me, it's very Bowman. : )

Here is the original notation for Dark Eyes Reel.

And here's one A and one B transferred over to a .tef file (can't get a link to work so message me if you want a copy) so that I could provide a transcription in banjo tab. (This tab is for reference; I didn't tweak it to be a banjo version of the tune.)

I also recorded a quick unpracticed read-through of it on fiddle to give you an idea of how the tune might go. It reminds of other D tunes that I've played, but nothing specific comes to mind. Does the A part remind you of anything in particular?

I've been experimenting with Dark Eyes Reel on the banjo for a couple of weeks but I'm still not sure how I want to play it. I'll post a couple of practice recordings before the week is over.

In the meantime, I'm hoping that some of you will come up with your own versions of the tune. I'd love to hear your interpretations. I'm looking forward to the day when I'll be wandering around a festival and all of a sudden something will catch my ear and I'll think, "Oh, wow! That's one of Albert's tunes!"

(If you'd like to see a pdf of The Young Violinist's Favorite, just message me.)

A Little Bit about Albert S. Bowman

When I first purchased the book, I had no idea who A. S. Bowman was and it didn't appear that anyone else did either. Below is a quick summary of what I've learned about him to date. (Message me if you're interested in the sources.)

Albert S. Bowman was born in Pennsylvania in 1844 and grew up in Manheim, a small town in Lancaster County. His father was Henry B. Bowman, a physician and business man who served two terms in the state legislature, and his mother was Elizabeth Neff.

As one of three children in a family that lived in comfortable circumstances, I suspect Albert had access to formal musical training from a young age, but I haven't been able to confirm that.

In the 1860 census, Albert was sixteen, living at home, and working as a clerk. By 1867, he was a "Professor of Music on the Flute, Viol, Bass Viol, etc." (1867 Course Catalog) at the State Normal School in Millersville, and in 1868, the year he turned 24, he took over leadership of a local orchestra. The Lancaster Intelligencer announced "Professor W. H. Keffer has withdrawn from Keffer's Orchestra. A. S. Bowman, a member of the band, and an excellent musician, will take the leadership so long and so ably filled by Prof. Keffer." Washington H. Keffer was a music teacher, composer, and "dealer in all kinds of MUSIC and MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS" in the Lancaster area.

The newspaper then began reporting on "Professor Bowman's Orchestra." The group played for a number of events at the school including a literary society anniversary where "the music was furnished by Bowman's Orchestra in their usual excellent style."

In the 1870 Lancaster census, Albert was enumerated as a musician living with his wife Annie S. and his son, four-year-old Charles L. By 1880 the family had relocated to Reading, a larger city about thirty miles northeast of Lancaster. This time his occupation was listed in the census as "music dealer." Charles, age 15, was a "clerk in store," most likely working in his father's business.

As a music dealer, A. S. probably sold instruments and sheet music. It's also possible that he gave lessons and participated in the local music community. He was also composing and publishing. In the early 1880s, Albert authored a violin method book entitled Excelsior method and progressive school for the violin (Pt. 1) and in 1885 he wrote a 55-page guide called How to teach orchestras: a thorough instructor in the art. He published The Young Violinist's Favorite in 1891.

The 1890 census is unavailable and I haven't been able to find Albert in the 1900 census, but by the turn of the century, he had moved to Philadelphia and developed a relationship with J. W. Pepper, a music publisher in Philadelphia. He authored numerous books for them including works focusing on opera, band, and orchestral music.

In 1908, The J.W. Pepper collection of 500 reels, jigs, clogs, flings, hornpipes, stop jigs, sand jigs, straight jigs, walk-arounds, buck and wing dances and fancy and country dances for violin with tunes "Composed, Selected and Arranged by A. S. Bowman" was published. I borrowed a copy through interlibrary loan hoping to discover new Bowman tunes but, unfortunately, the book didn't indicate which of the entries were composed by Albert and which ones were from other sources. (In the late 1980s, someone by the name of Roland S. Mulder owned the book that I borrowed and it looks like he studied the tunes methodically, making check marks and noting dates. If you recognize the name, please message me.)

Albert's wife Annie died in 1909. The following year, Albert, age 65, was still living in Philadelphia. His occupation, recorded in the 1910 census, is difficult to read but it probably says "theater musician." Albert appeared in the 1911 Philadelphia directory living at the same address and then the next mention I find of him is in a 1922 issue of Music Supervisor's Journal in an advertisement for Thirty Standard and Popular Operas, Selected and Arranged by A. S. Bowman and Mackie-Beyer and published J. W. Pepper. The advertisement reads, "Ready at last!" and "Just off the press!" Mackie-Beyer was "Pepper's most prolific arranger/composer."

In 1930, Albert and his son Charles were both "music writers" living in Manhattan, near Times Square. Albert died five years later at the age of 91. His death certificate tells us that he succumbed to chronic lymphatic leukemia and bilateral bronchopneumonia at City Hospital on Welfare Island in Manhattan. His son signed a notarized document stating that Albert had expressed a desire to be cremated and his death certificate lists place of burial as "Fresh Pond Crematory."

Edited by - ajisai on 08/15/2014 15:11:39

cmox - Posted - 08/15/2014:  13:45:33

Thank you.

Connie

aeroweenie - Posted - 08/16/2014:  09:19:04

Nice reel and write up.  Thanks for the fiddle recording for those of us who don't read music!

hendrid - Posted - 08/16/2014:  16:39:18

Another version with mandolin tabs maybe

chicagogenealogy.com/vitularia/der.pdf

JanetB - Posted - 08/16/2014:  18:07:31

A unique TOTW contribution, ajisai.  Welcome!  Listening to your fiddling, Cynthia, made it easiest for me to try this one.  The A part reminds me of Old French.  Your remark about the B part and its slurred notes was a good cue, so I looked at the notation.

When I play Dark Eyes Reel it feels more like a hornpipe than a reel and I  wonder how the composer played it.  This method of learning reminds me of the way in which Turlough O'Carolan's pieces were passed on--someone notated them in the late 1600's and now we know many of his amazing harp tunes.

Something else I'm reminded of is the type of composition Dark Eyes Reel resembles, as described in Jeff Titon's book Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes.  He remarks that of the three melody types he studied, the first was most often found in northeastern Kentucky.  To paraphrase him:  these tunes have elaborate melodic lines with a succession of eighth notes; are rhythmically restrained, usually are in major or minor modality; and desend from the British and Irish tunes found more in the northern United States.  Since Albert Bowman was from Pennsylvania I'm wondering if a stylistic link exists here and how he was influenced by these types of tunes.

Edited by - JanetB on 08/16/2014 18:15:23

Dark Eyes Reel (TOTW)

Dark Eyes Reel tab

Brooklynbanjoboy - Posted - 08/17/2014:  13:04:08

Great work, JB.

I thought I'd take a hack at it:

strokestyle - Posted - 08/19/2014:  10:50:03

Nice work here ajisai!

LyleK - Posted - 08/19/2014:  17:55:06

In honor of international A.S. Bowman week, because we already have a few recordings of Dark Eyes, and because the following is really a reel that you can never get tired of, here's Bowman's "Never Tired Reel."

Never Tired Reel