The Story:

In a quiet, wintry cabin in a hilly part of Ontario — a far cry from the busy bike paths and flat farmers’ fields of the lowlands of Holland — Emilyn, reflecting on her Dutch heritage, began fiddling through the first 100 tunes of the expansive tune book series, Oude en Nieuwe Hollantse Boerenlieties en Contredansen (Old and New Farmer Songs and Contradances from Holland). 

The series, published in 13 parts between 1700 and 1716, includes almost 1000 tunes, the oldest dating back as early as the 1500s and the newer ones from the time of publication. They capture the repertoires that were popular at the time, the social music that was played by everyday people in their homes and at parties, for singing and dancing — folk music! Many of the tunes travelled over from France, England, and elsewhere, and were adopted by the folks of Holland, often given Dutch names and flavours.

Folk music is always evolving through the time and place of the folk who are playing it, but the human condition remains the same. There is a certain magic in playing these simple melodies from long ago, a feeling of emotional connectedness with the people who played these tunes way back then. 

This album features our favourite tunes from part one of the collection, interpreted with influences of modern-day folk traditions from western Europe.

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​All melodies are traditional, arrangements by Emilyn and John

Emilyn Stam:
5 String Fiddle (1-4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15)
Piano (8, 16)
Piano Accordion (5, 10, 11, 13)

John David Williams:
Clarinet (3-5, 7, 10-13)
Diatonic Accordion (1, 2, 6, 14-16)
Harmonica (8, 9)