Wrote this tune years ago, but I recorded it again in the process of scoring it and figuring out the guitar chords.

Kites

A short piece arranged for (and performed on) piano by my dad. It's apparently based on a number from Borodin's "Prince Igor" opera. I love the way he chose to distill the melody to its bare essence. He told me he could have gone with something more complex, but that this had a more central asian feel to it. He's a well-travelled man, so I'm not about to argue the point! (Note: I recorded the violin later. It was rather tricky to match his phrasing I must say!)


Peasant's Chorus

Sorry about having to take this off and repost it. There were some chord issues I need to resolve. So this is a project I'm working on for a band I'm in called Celtic Kitchen Party. So far, it's just me on fiddle with everything else generated in GarageBand. It may eventually evolve into an actual song with like lyrics and everything! But I hope you enjoy this instrumental version.

Anticipation

Found this cool Chinese backing track and had to add some violin to it. I tried staying on one string and sliding up and down where possible to get a more eastern sound. It's hard to find the notes that way…especially when you're just making it up as you go. :)

Loti

Just installed the new GarageBand that came out for the iPhone and recorded a couple of jigs. I just used the phone's built-in mic, so yeah, the fiddle sounds tinny. The tools for creating guitar, percussion, etc. are really cool though! Wish GarageBand on the Mac had them.

Anyway, "Sheep in the Boat" is a tune I picked up at a workshop with the Kane Sisters. The "Wolfe Island Jig" is my own composition which happily seemed to fit nicely with it, both musically and thematically. If anyone wants sheet music for the latter, let me know. (I have it in abc or pdf.)

Sheep in the Boat - Wolfe Island Jig

Prepared for Easter Mass at St. Paul The Apostle Catholic Church in Kingston, ON, Canada. Contributors: Chris Forster (vocals, guitar), Alice Ching-Chew (vocals, banjo ukulele), Donna Harrington (vocals), Araceli Javier (harmony vocals), Urla Vavier (harmony vocals), Ian Chew (piano), Ted Chew (violin, viola). Compiled from home recordings by Ted Chew.

Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

Saw this plaque at the Smithsonian in D.C. featuring sheet music from the 10th century and got curious about how it sounds. I'm know very little about this type of music, but here's my interpretation. (I'm playing violin through a pickup to a backing track done in GarageBand.)


Adir la-nã 'akwãb

Celtic fiddlers always seem to be in such a damn hurry. Never stop to savour a melody. I was delighted, therefore, when Patrick Ourceau popped into town and taught me this slow tune for a change. This is sort of an apology for that last track (The Congress) I posted. :-)

Dear Irish Boy

I wonder if you can find any other persian-peruvian fusion on the cloud?

Incastan

An iPhone recording I made during a Celtic Rumblings practice that came out better than I would've expected. Features Tom Macintosh (vocals, guitar), Kat McDonald (vocals, bodhrán), Ally Ching-Chew (tenor guitar), and myself (Ted Chew) on fiddle.

Dirty Old Town

This is the first tune Patrick Ourceau taught me. I've been practising it for awhile now trying to do it justice and this is where things stand at the moment. Hope you enjoy it!

The New Road

Violinist who plays in a community string orchestra, a church ensemble, and at pubs (mostly Irish/Celtic tunes). Occasionally toss something together at home in GarageBand, and will post some of that here from time to time.

tunetardis

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