Marcy Prochaska: Hammered Dulcimer

Classical | Folk | Original

Sample Repertoire Lists

Look over the lists below to see what kinds of music I typically play. The lists are not exhaustive, so if there’s an unlisted piece you’d like me to play, I might already know it or I might be able to learn it.

A Note About Sound Files

Each tune title is a link to an MP3 or MIDI sound file — please do not use any sound files without permission. MP3s are either home recordings or clips from one of my CDs. MIDIs are digitally created with NoteWorthy Composer notation software; they’re good enough to show how the tunes go, but the pieces will sound much better live.

Classical (Mostly Baroque)

Many of these pieces can or must be played as duets. Good choices for a second instrument are flute, violin, or (for some pieces) harp.

• Hornpipe . . . Handel . . . Great recessional, from Water Music.
• Arioso . . . J. S. Bach . . . Lovely air.
• Bourree . . . J. S. Bach . . . From Em Lute Suite; this version inspired by Nightnoise.
• Bourree . . . Handel . . . From Water Music (and the Frugal Gourmet).
• Canon in D . . . Pachelbel . . . My favorite processional.
• Carolan’s Draught / Sleepers Awake . . . O’Carolan / Bach . . . Two lovely airs, one Irish.
• Flower Duet . . . Delibes . . . From the opera Lakme (and British Airways).
• Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring . . . Bach . . . A beautiful meditation.
• Menuet . . . Quantz . . . Carrie Crompton’s version, lyrical and soaring.
• Now Thank We All Our God . . . Bach . . . More than just the hymn tune.
• Praeludium I . . . Bach . . . Lovely by itself or with Gounod’s Ave Maria.
• Rondeau . . . Mouret . . . An elegant fanfare, famous as the Masterpiece Theatre theme.
• Sheep May Safely Graze . . . Bach . . . A peaceful air.

Traditional and Contemporary Folk

On the Mellow Side

• Allemande . . . From the Renaissance.
• Ash Grove . . . Welsh air.
• Big Meadows Twilight . . . © Tim Seaman . . . Celtic-inspired air.
• Bunch of Rushes . . . Irish?
• Easter Thursday . . . English double hornpipe.
• Fig for a Kiss . . . Scottish slip jig.
• Front Porch Waltz / Galician Waltz . . . © Rick Thum / © Fernando Largo . . . From Celtic Spain.
  

  October 8, 2004: I have recently learned that the tune I learned as “Galician Waltz” is really titled “Cau’l Chouzano” and was written by Asturian musician, Fernando Largo. I still haven’t been able to get in touch with him or his publisher.

• George Brabazon . . . O’Carolan . . . Irish air.
• Glen Affric . . . © Paul Brockman . . . Celtic-inspired air.
• Greensleeves . . . English air, originally a jig.
• Hewlett . . . O’Carolan . . . Irish air.
• Parson’s Farewell . . . English country dance tune.
• The Presbyterian Hornpipe . . . English double hornpipe.
• Si Bheag Si Mhor . . . O’Carolan . . . Irish air.
• They Stole My Wife Last Night . . . Gaelic air.
• The Water is Wide . . . English air.

A Little Livelier

• Banish Misfortune . . . Irish jig.
• The Butterfly . . . Irish slip jig.
• The Cuckoo’s Nest . . . Irish hornpipe.
• Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman . . . French-Canadian reel.
• Julia Delany . . . Irish reel.
• Merrily Kiss the Quaker . . . Irish jig.
• Over the Waterfall . . . Old Time reel.
• Red-Haired Boy . . . Irish reel.
• Road to Lisdoonvarna . . . Irish jig.
• Rowena’s Waltz . . . © Tim Seaman . . . Written for his wife’s birthday.
• Simple Gifts . . . Shaker hymn.
• Timberline Wander . . . © Tim Seaman . . . Hiking tune.
• Trip to Sligo . . . Irish jig.

Original

• Amy’s Morning . . . Improvised while trying to entertain our four-month-old on a fussy morning.
• Chesterton . . . For G. K. Chesterton and his wise lunatics.
• Evening’s End . . . How I remember the tune our old music box played.
• Fallen . . . For those who fell on 9-11, and for all of us who fell with Adam and Eve.
• Generations . . . Written for the seating of mothers and grandmothers at a wedding.
• Harper’s Waltz . . . Inspired by O’Carolan; my first dulcimer composition.
• In Him Will I Trust . . . A lullaby with lyrics from the Psalms.
• Irksome Girl . . . A self-portrait of sorts.
• Kittatinny Tunnel . . . As a kid I loved going through the tunnels on the PA Turnpike.
• Mark’s Jig . . . Each part begins by spelling Mark’s names, first, middle, last.
• Meditation in Bb . . . Inspired by the upper right corner of my dulcimer.
• Midnight Maze . . . For the landscapes of dreams.
• October Snow . . . Mixed feelings about the first snow of the season.
• Poet in the Field . . . A reel written for my friend Rick.
• Prelude in Bm . . . A rhythmic motif travels through a chord progression.
• Rain Painting . . . After a rain,Williamsburg landscapes look like watercolors.
• South of the James . . . For our former home in Richmond, Virginia.
• Third Street Market . . . For the Ithaca Farmers’ Market; Don at UPDF inspired the drum part.
• Thursday Morning . . . For those quiet, cup-of-tea, cat-in-the-lap mornings.
• Toboggan . . . There’s nothing like flying down a hill in a loaded toboggan.
• Variations on a Three-Year-Old Theme . . . Based on the first song I ever wrote.
• Winter East and Kensington . . . About musical fellowship; named after rehearsal addresses.

Ask me about Christmas music.

Classical | Folk | Original