Old-Time Fiddler’s Repertory: Historic Field Recordings of Forty-one Traditional Tunes contains 27 breakdowns, 4 quadrilles, 8 “pieces,” and 2 waltzes, most from the companion print volume The Old-Time Fiddler’s Repertory: 245 Traditional Tunes.

The fiddlers and tunes featured on this CD are a rare find for anyone interested in old-time fiddle music—only five or six of them have ever before been recorded commercially. The original recordings were not made in an elaborate sound studio; rather, R. P. Christeson, using a simple wire machine, recorded old-time fiddle music being played at dances, in front yards, and on back porches. This does not in any sense minimize the worth of these recordings. Instead, it adds to their value, for through them is preserved the pure American art of old-time fiddling.

About the Editor

R. P. Christeson began playing the fiddle as a boy in Dixon, Missouri. He started collecting commercial recordings of fiddle music in 1933 and started making live field recordings in 1947. Always in search of the least-altered version of a fiddle tune, Christeson traveled the country to attend fiddlers’ contests and visited individual fiddlers to record their music. This book was born out of his belief that the traditional folk arts of the American people should be preserved and documented while they still may be.