Ashokan Farewell
"Ashokan Farewell" /əˈʃoʊˌkæn/ is a piece of music composed by the American folk musician Jay Ungar in 1982. For many years, it served as a goodnight or farewell waltz at the annual Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps, run by Ungar and his wife Molly Mason, who gave the tune its name, at the Ashokan Field Campus of SUNY New Paltz (now the Ashokan Center) in Upstate New York.[1]
The tune was used as the title theme of the 1990
Background
The piece is a
Before its use as the television series theme, "Ashokan Farewell" was recorded on Waltz of the Wind, the second album by the band Fiddle Fever. The musicians included Ungar and Mason. Ashokan was the name of a former village in the Catskill region[1] that is now mostly covered by the Ashokan Reservoir.
Use in The Civil War documentary series
In 1984, filmmaker
In the wake of the success of the series and its soundtrack album, the track was released as a single by Elektra Nonesuch, backed with the "Sullivan Ballou Letter" recording featuring narrator
The song was later used in the
Most recently, the song is used in the 2018 premiere of the television series Yellowstone.
Other versions
The song has been covered and rerecorded numerous times:
- 1992 – Cape Breton fiddler Jerry Holland performed the tune on his album The Fiddlesticks Collection.
- 1993 – Country violinist Mark O'Connor released Heroes, containing an "Ashokan Farewell" duet with Pinchas Zukerman.[6]
- 1994 – Acoustic guitar duo Wind Machine on their album A Show of Hands.
- 1994 – Bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice covered it on his release Live.
- 1994 – Priscilla Herdman also released it on Forever and Always, with lyrics by Grian Mac Gregor. Both Ungar and Mason accompanied her.
- 1994 – Folk guitarist Tommy Emmanuel recorded it on his album Terra Firmawith his brother Phil Emmanuel. He also does a version of the song with his band which includes drumming from the Civil War time period, a standing bass, and a second harmony guitar.
- 1996 – LeRoy Mack on the album LeRoy Mack And Friends.
- 1997 – James Galway and Phil Coulter, featuring James Galway on the flute.
- 1997 – Joe Trio ( Allen Styles, Cameron Wilson and Laura McPheeters) on the album A Cup of Joe,
- 1997 - The Adagio Trio recorded it on the album Stillpoint arranged for cello, harp, and flute
- ca. 1998 - Southern Cross Bush Band (Featuring fiddler Les Helfgott), Included as part of a medley on their CD album "Cross Selection".
- 2001 – A cover version appears on Chuck Leavell's solo piano recording Forever Blue.
- 2002 – Solo fingerstyle guitarist Larry Pattis plays a moving version in DADGAD tuning on his album "Hands of Time."
- 2002 – Americana band Scythian on the album Dance at the Crossroads.
- 2003 – The violin duo group "Duel" consisting of Greg Scott and Craig Owen released a cover on Ashokan Farewell on their 1st Album entitled "DUEL" the Album went to number 1 in the UK classical charts for several weeks.
- 2005 – The all-female Irish musical ensemble Celtic Woman released a cover version by Máiréad Nesbitt (violin/fiddle) in their first album and live DVD recording of the same name.
- 2006 – Time for Three covered it on We Just Burned this for You, recorded live at Bowling Green State University in Ohio on January 13.
- 2008 – British vocal band Blake covered the song for their self-titled debut album.
- 2008 – North Dakota fiddler Loy Larson performs it on his album Loy Larson, On Track. He performs all the instruments heard in this tune and all tunes on the album.
- 2009 – Arvel Bird, fiddler, included the song in his album Red River Jig, alongside several Métis tunes
- 2011 – Keith Kenniff, under his moniker Goldmund, covered the song on his album All Will Prosper.
- 2011 – The Band Of Her Majesty's Royal Marines released a cover of Ashokan Farewell
- 2011 – The Ebony Hillbillies on their album Barefoot and Flying.
- 2011 – Circa Paleo on their album Tideland.
- 2012 – Muckle Flugga on their album Back To The Light.
- 2012-2013 – In the BBC America TV series Copper,[7] which takes place in the Five Points of New York City in 1864, almost 120 years before the tune was written.
- 2013 – On the album Strike the Tent, the Second South Carolina String Band covers the song.
- 2013 – Electric violinist Bridgid Bibbens covered the song on her debut album Sugar&Steel.
- 2013 – Performed by solo violinist Major John Perkins of The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines was voted no. 36 in Classic FM's (UK) Hall of Fame.[8]
- 2013 – Burning Bridget Cleary on their album Pressed for Time.
- 2013 – Broderick & Broderick, on their eponymous EP, include a track entitled "Ashokan Farewell".
- 2014 – Nicola Benedetti: Homecoming, Rory MacDonald & BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, soloist Nicola Benedetti, Decca.
- 2015 – The Coal Creek Boys perform it on their album Out West.
- 2015 – A remixed version is used in the soundtrack of the Japanese Anime TV series Owarimonogatari called Euler, Composed by Kei Haneoka.[9]
- 2017 – The American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic recorded the tune for their album Simple Gifts
- 2019 – Jenny Oaks Baker performed a Kurt Bestor arrangement of it with the Lyceum Philharmonic orchestra, filmed in an outdoor setting, with the Sullivan Ballou farewell love letter from "The Civil War" documentary by Ken Burns overlaid throughout.[10]
- 2019 – Nova Scotian fiddler Amelia Parker recorded the song for her album Intertwined
- 2019 – James Dunne closed his album Family Songs, Vol.1 with it, featuring mandolin, harmonica, guitar and violin.[11]
- 2021 - Valentina Lisitsa - piano - recorded by Music Lab Collective - on album Classical Chill, released June 2, 2021
See also
- Music history of the United States during the Civil War era
References
- ^ a b c d Ungar, Jay (2012-05-20). "Ashokan Farewell FAQ". Retrieved 2015-01-04.
- ^ "The Civil War . The Film . Music of the Civil War". PBS. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
- ^ a b "The Music of the Civil War". PBS. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
- ^ DiMartino, Dave. "Instrumental Soundtracks Chime In". Billboard magazine, 16 February 1991, p. 10.
- ^ Silver, Stephen (May 29, 2015). "'Louie' season finale breaks out the 'Ashokan Farewell'". TechnologyTell. GadgetTell LLC. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ Brian Mansfield. "Heroes". AllMusic.
- ^ "About Copper". BBC America. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "Hall of Fame | Classic FM". Archived from the original on 2013-04-04.
- ^ Owarimonogatari ost Euler. Painzer Tensei. April 3, 2016. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ashokan Farewell - Jenny Oaks Baker & Lyceum Philharmonic. Lyceum Philharmonic at American Heritage School. February 26, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ashokan Farewell. James Dunne. June 10, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2021 – via YouTube.