The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-01-29

liz 1t wasn't for what happened
to Rupert / might even say that
George Washington was himself IN
old-time fiddler. But one never can
tell these days when one who
speaks even slightly out Of turn.
with the Whirling times will be com
PEELED to eat a: mess OF his own.
words without the aid OF palatable
dressing. And so I'm saying moth
ing about Washington as fiddler.
win Play jefferson Fiddle
But wen stick to the jefferson
statement not only because we're
all pretty much interested in old
time fiddling these days hut for
the specific reason that the very
fiddle with which the man who en-
gineered the Louisiana Purchase
fiddled away on the front porch OF
Monticello In the evening OF his
life-that self-same fiddle will raise
its pure democratic tones at the
oldstifne fiddlers' contest which
radio station WRC is preparing to
stage in this city.
: The Jefferson fiddle is now the
proud possession of w. HI. Payne.
or Quantico Va, who has written
WRC that he wants to be among
those present when the matter OF
championship is determined and
that he believes the Jefferson fiddle
viii make itself heard. That .Jxs
ferson was a fiddler OF no mean
ability is not a strange thing. be-
cause all gentlemen of the period
IN which he lived sought to play
some musical instrument. Patrick
Henry fiddled a bit during the
course of his stormy life. Aud no
real manor house in this country
or baronial castle in Europe was
complete without a set of musical
instruments with which the lord
OF the domain and his guests could
amuse themselves.
Called Chamber Music
Some OF the very finest music of
Beethoven, Brahms, Bach. Mozart
and Haydn was written for lust
such use-and called chamber
music. Today chamber music is re-
garded as the highest OF highbrow
form of composition and by the in.
telligentsia is called pure music. !"
An excellent description Of an
evening Of this sort of music will
be found in Richard CarveI," the
historic novel Of early MARYLAND
days.
And these old time colonial sig
neurs loved the old time ballads
and dances and developed much of
the technique which has become so
distinctive that today it is dubbed
old time fiddling. Most of the tunes
that are to be played at the old
4
that Thomas jefferson undoubtedly
played in his quiet hours at Monti-
cello-or their immediate musical
ancestors. Tunes were used that
were conventionalized later but
which in their early form had been
passed down from generation to
generation for perhaps a thousand
lears--maybe more than that.
Nobody knows the age of the ballad
low identified as THE Last Rose
Summer" because of the words
'homas Moore wrote for it. Or of
he melody to which Moore wrote
ne words of Believe Me if All
Those Endeating Young Charms 4"
And the melody the Volsteaders
would make the national anthem
Drink to Me Only With Thine
yes lis another of the stone age
hings that was played on the
irwin before someone dug it up and
;et words to it and gave it identity
Fifteen is the total Of the old
me fiddlers who have now entered
he contest radio station WRC has
arranged. There were four new
entrants today in addition to Payne
of Quantico. These include: Benja-
min Brown, OF Bowie, Md; c.. l..
Wilson, of Ballston, Va: Samuel H.
Tenant. of Mcdaniel Talbot
County, Md, and T.. V. Havener,
of Clarendon, Va.