CLIFFORD ESSEX MUSIC CO. LTD

The Home of the Banjo, Mandolin, Guitar and Kindred Instruments

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF
EARLY MORLEY MELODIES

(A4 Spiral Bound)

This album contains some of the first solos composed and played by Joe Morley, and they are typical examples of the banjo music of the 1890s and early 1900s.  These were the solos played by the Minstrel Troupes, the Pierrots, and the concert parties which entertained the public, not only at the seaside during the summer, but also at countless local halls and theatres throughout the year. It was the age before television, or even radio, when families were used to making their own entertainment at home, so it is not surprising that after hearing players such as Morley, people were attracted to the banjo and its music. 

It seems that Morley had an inexhaustible fund of melodies, to the extent that he had more trouble thinking of titles than writing the pieces, and it is clear that he named many of the early solos according to a particular place where he was playing at the time when the piece was composed, — a simple answer to the problem, which almost certainly also pleased his audiences.

It was his brilliant playing of these solos in a minstrel troupe that brought Morley to the attention of Clifford Essex, who engaged  him for an important London concert in 1894, and subsequently published many of his compositions, which were eagerly bought by thousands of amateurs, all aspiring to emulate the man who had become known as ‘the lightning banjoist’.

The solos in this album range from ‘easy’ to ‘moderate’ in difficulty, but some of them involve quite tricky fingering.   We have included Morley’s left-hand fingering when it appears on the publications, and added some where considered it might be helpful, but no right-hand fingering was shown on any of the originals. The CD was recorded electronically from a music writing program. 

CONTENTS

VIOLET MAZURKA
SHANKLIN SCHOTTISCHE
IN THE MOONLIGHT
FAVOURITE
MOONBEAMS SHADOW
THE WIMBLEDON BARN DANCE
DORA BREAKDOWN
COWES SCHOTTISCHE
ROYAL OSBORNE
SUNFLOWER BREAKDOWN
CANNON JIG
HEEL AND TOE POLKA

  Postage UK - £2.50     Europe - £5.00    Rest of the world - £7.50

If required, it is the responsibility of the customer to pay any taxes or import duties for customs clearance.