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<p>This dissertation is in two parts: a music composition titled "Dark Holler" for
large chamber ensemble; and an article on how Cape Breton traditional fiddlers manipulate
tempo in performance.</p><p>1. Dark Holler</p><p>Dark Holler is a 45-minute work in
six movements for large chamber ensemble. The piece incorporates a number of styles
of American roots music including fiddle tunes, African American fife and drum music
from the Mississippi delta, Appalachian ballad singing, and banjo songs. I weave these
musical references and quotations with my own musical language and place the source
material in new contexts for each movement. In my use of the folk material I am more
concerned with the performance of the tunes than with the melodies themselves. The
piece gets it's name from a line from the tune used in the final movement: "When I
wake I have no rest / every moment seems an hour / all the pain rolls through my breast
/ I'd rather be in some dark holler."</p><p>2. That Driving Sound: Use of Tempo in
Traditional Cape Breton Fiddle Performance </p><p>In performances of the "Scottish
Set," Cape Breton fiddlers create a coherent large-scale structure by executing a
continuous tempo acceleration that lasts the length of the March, Strathspey, and
Reel set. This command of tempo is extraordinary. Performers use tempo acceleration
to transition between tune types and propel the music forward by accelerating by as
little as one beat per minute. Considering the music's roots in the dance halls of
Cape Breton, where does this unusual practice come from? I look closely at step dancing
as registered in the approach to rhythm, pacing, structure, and tempo. The intimate
relationship between fiddle and feet yields smooth transitions from one tune type
to another in order to facilitate the dance steps. In this paper I demonstrate how
fiddlers exaggerate this tempo manipulation in performances where dancing does not
occur. Through analysis, I measure tempo fluctuations as they correspond to the progression
of tunes to explain the large-scale and continuous tempo acceleration that shapes
the exciting performance practice.</p>
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