Annotation:Wullafjord

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X:1 T:Willafjord - Old Style M:4/4 L:1/8 R:Reel P:Traditional Shetland C:As played by Bobby Peterson W: from Maurice Henderson "In Search of Willafjord" K:D dB|"D"A2 FA DAFA|"G"B2 GB DBGB|"D"A2 FA DAFA|"Em"EFGA "A7"GFED|! "D"ADFA DAFA|"G"B2 GB DBGB|"A7"ABcd efge|"D"f2 d2 d3||! "D"{B}A2 FA DAFA|"G"B2 GB DBGB|"D"A2 FD ADFA|"Em"EFGA "A7"GFED|! "D"ADFA DAFA|"G"B2 GB DBGB|"A7"ABcd efge|"D"f2 d2 d3 ||! "D"{e}f2 df Afdf|"Em"geaf "G"gfeg|"D"f2 df Afdf|"Em"e2 ce "A7"Aece|! "D" f2 df Afdf|"Em"fgaf "G"gfec|"A7"ABcd efge|"D"f2 d2 d3||! "D"{e}f2 df Afdf|"Em"geaf "G"gfeg|"D"f2 df Afdf|"Em"e2 ce "A7"Aece|! "D" f2 df Afdf|"Em"fgaf "G"gfec|"A7"ABcd efge|"D"f2 d2 d3||!


WILLAFJORD. AKA - "Willa Fjord," “Wullafjord.” Shetland, Shetland Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part (Cooke): AB (Flett & Flett): AABB (Anderson & Swing, Hardie, Lerwick, Martin & Hughes, Sweet). “Willafjord,” or “Wullafjord,” is known by fiddlers throughout the Shetland Islands. The tune originally came from Greenland, imported to Shetland at the end of the 19th century and disseminated in the age of arctic whaling expeditions. It is sometimes described as having originated as a ‘whaling reel’.

In my own experience as a fieldworker in the sub-arctic region of Canada, my playing of the Shetland tune ‘Wullafjord’ (also discussed in depth later in this article) to Cree fiddle players in the town of Moose Factory, northern Ontario, immediately gave rise to the response that the tune sounded like an Inuit melody. After some research into the James Bay repertoire, I also came across the tune ‘Log Cabin’, written by fiddler James Stewart of Chisasibi, which bears notable similarities to ‘Wullafjord’ in terms of phrasing and structure[1].


Additional notes
Source for notated version : - the late fiddler, teacher and composer Tom Anderson (Lerwick, Shetland) [Hardie]; Bobbie Peterson (Breiwick, Tingwall, Shetland) [Cooke, Flett & Flett].

Printed sources : - Anderson & Swing (Haand me doon da Fiddle), 1979. Cooke (The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles), 1986; Ex. 51, p. 110 (appears as “Wullafjord”). Flett & Flett (Traditional Dancing in Scotland), 1964; p. 220. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; p. 35. Lerwick (Kilted Fiddler), 1985; p. 14. Martin & Hughes (Ho-ro-gheallaidh), 1990; p. 33. Songer & Curley (Portland Collection vol. 2), 2005; p. 224. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; p. 77.

Recorded sources : - Foot Stompin' Records CDFSR 1704, Liz Doherty and Fiddlesticks - "Racket In The Rectory." Leader/Trailer LED-2 052, Forty Fiddlers - "Shetland Fiddlers" (1973). Maggie's Music MMCD109, Maggie Sansone – "Dance Upon The Shore" (1994). Ranters Recordings HLR01, High Level Ranters – "Bridging" (2004). Resilient Records RES001, Kathryn Tickell – "Back To The Hills" (2002). Tangent TNGM 117, Bobby Peterson - "Scottish Tradition, 4. Shetland Fiddle Music," (1978).



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  1. ↑ F. Wilkins, "Da Merry Boys O Greenland: Explorations into the Musical Dialogue of Shetland’s Nautical Past", Folk Music Journal, vol. 11 , no. 2, 2017.
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