Annotation:Purcell's Reel
Back to Purcell's Reel
PURCELL'S REEL. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Nebraska. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Nebraska fiddler Uncle Bob Walters (d. 1960) recorded the tune for R.P. Christeson in September, 1950. Walters was the son and grandson of fiddlers, and the ‘smoothest’ and most accomplished fiddler Christeson knew, and had an immense repertoire. Many of the tunes in the Christeson publications were sourced to him. “Purcell's Reel” was known to other mid-western fiddlers, such as Nebraska/Iowa fiddler Dwight Lamb (who learned it from Walters).
Source for notated version: Bob Walters (Burt County, Nebraska) [Christeson].
Printed sources:
Christeson (Old Time Fiddler's Repertory, vol. 1), 1973; No. 22, p. 18.
Recorded sources:
String Productions 5SP05002, The Hoover Uprights – “Known for their Reputation” (2006. Played in AEae tuning).
Missouri Valley Music, Bob Walters – "The Champion" (2013).
Rounder Records CDROUN0529, Dwight Lamb – “Hell Agin the Barn Door: More Fiddle and Accordion Tunes from the Great Plains” (2005).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Hear the tune played by Dwight Lamb on youtube.com [2]
Hear the tune played by Bob Walters at Slippery Hill [3]