Felmingham

Part 5 in the Evergreen Band series of copyable band and piano parts: 10 old Norfolk tunes from the playing of Percy Brown of Felmingham, Walter Pardon of Knapton, Mr Cook of Buxton, and Albert Hewitt of Southrepps

Percy Brown

Percy was born in Felmingham in 1903 and grew up hearing his mother and other local musicians playing the melodeon for step-dancing, social dancing and as accompaniment for hymns and carols. He played and sang a wide range of music, from the local hornpipes, schottisches and waltzes, through music-hall and variety songs, right up to pieces he learnt from the radio and TV. If a tune was a good one, it was good enough to play.
He is generally considered to be one of the finest melodeon players of his generation, inventive, idiosyncratic and a musical bedrock for stepdancers such as Dick Hewitt and the Cromer lifeboatmen, for whom he regularly played. He never got the hang of reading music; 'That there music's all right, but it flattens out the tunes,' something Percy could never be accused of.

Walter Pardon

Walter had a repertoire of some 150 songs from Norfolk and beyond, learnt from his mother and his uncles, especially Billy Gee. Some were traditional ballads, some from old broadsides, and some were tear-jerkers from the Music Halls. He was particularly fond of his Union songs, and sang everything with a quiet relish.
After meeting folk singer Peter Bellamy Walter sang regularly at the Orchard Gardens in North Walsham and travelled widely to sing in places like London and even Washington DC.
He played a number of tunes on the melodeon, though he rarely played in public, preferring quiet gatherings like he used to have with his family. Walter was a carpenter by trade and his music too was shaped by the patience and loving care of a respected craftsman.

Mr Cook

All Mr Cook's tunes were noted by Norwich piano teacher Joan Roe in 1936. She played for the local English Folk Song and Dance Society meetings and sent the tunes she noted to Cecil Sharp House (EFSDS HQ). Unfortunately she noted no details of Mr Cook himself.

Albert Hewitt

Albert Hewitt (c.1880-1960) played one-row melodeon and was recorded in the 1950's playing Sheringham Breakdown and Southrepps Hornpipe. He is the only musician to have been recorded playing the latter. His granddaughter Carole Longhorn remembered, "They were Romany Gypsies. That's where the music came from. But granddad played the accordion and nan, she was the dancer. She would step dance. She would go on to Cromer and used to dance and have a good drink, y'know; and she used to dance and step, and my grandfather used to play the accordion in the pubs."
Albert and Christina's son Dick picked up step dancing from his mother and became well known as a dancer.

Download Music Files

Click on either member of the pairs of tunes below and choose to save the zip file from the menu that will appear.
Since each file consists of this pair of tunes, it doesn't matter which member of the pair you pick, as they both link to the same file.

Band Arrangements:
Title	Key	Form of tune	From the playing of
Yarmouth Breakdown No.1 Mr Cook's Polka	D G	32 bar Hornpipe 32 bar Hornpipe	Percy Brown Mr Cook
Waltz for the Veleta Your Elegant Motor Car	G D	64 bar Waltz 32 bar Waltz	Percy Brown Walter Pardon
Uncle Walter's Polka Percy Brown's Polka	F C	48 bar Polka 32 bar Polka	Walter Pardon Percy Brown
Uncle Walter's March Buxton Seven	D G	16 bar March 12 bar March	Walter Pardon Mr Cook
Southrepps Hornpipe Cromer Schottische	F G	16 bar Hornpipe 16 bar hornpipe	Albert Hewitt Percy Brown
Piano Arrangements: Click here to download and save all the Felmingham Tunes for piano