Polska Efter Båtsman Däck.

mazurka

Key signature: Gmajor

Submitted on December 23rd 2011 by Weejie.

This tune has been added to 10 tunebooks.

Also known as Polska Efter Batsman Dack.

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Polska efter Båtsman Däck

A Swedish polska, rather than a mazurka, and a very well known one.
This became very well known through the playing of nyckelharpist Ceylon Wallin (1922-1984) of Valö socken, now in Uppsala. Ceylon Wallin even appeared on a postage stamp in the 70s.
"Båtsman Däck" or "Boatman Däck" (pronounced "Deck") was Johan Däck (1848-1913), who was a fiddle player and sailor, and apparently circumnavigated the globe three times. He was a tutor to Ceylon Wallin's father, Albin, who was also a well known fiddler.

This tune is so simple, but delightfully so. It might not be Irish, but it goes nicely on the pipes (sounds good on Swedish and Northumbrian pipes too) and suits most instruments if not all.

# Posted on December 23rd 2011 by Weejie

Sweet, and the added and informative comment too.

As always, thanks for the tune and the information - - - and the memory jog... How we'd love to be doing some of this over Christmas, meaning the pols, the music and the dance of it. But, maybe we will, as I think the kitchen floor would do nicely...

Wishing you the best over the Winter holidays Weejie, and through the New Year...

# Posted on December 23rd 2011 by ceolachan

It's not cricket.

I see that the title of this tune has now been edited and our intrepid sailor has now become a "batsman" called "Dack".
I find it odd that the diacritical tilde has been retained for Spanish tune names (eg Muiñeira) yet the omljud has been zapped and the character 'å' changed so that the title now contains four instances of the letter 'a' where there should only be two. No - definitely no! Ä and Å are separate and distinct letters of the Swedish alphabet and not to be treated as characters with diacritical marks to be removed willy-nilly.

Its "boatsman Deck" - the "båt" even retains pronunciation in translation.
Leave the linguistic xenophobia to those who prefer to shop in John Men-zees and call their daughter 'Kate-lin'. A yogh or purely dental 't' and fada never enters their little world.
If you cannae observe the dialect in the words, you'll not stand much chance of observing it in the music.
Båtsman Däck must be turning in his grave

Rant over. .

# Posted on December 29th 2011 by Weejie

Titled corrected.

# Posted on December 29th 2011 by Weejie

"Gammeldans CD"

You just never know what is going to turn up next on this sight.
'm forever browsing in charity shops for CDs and last year I came across one named "Gammeldans". This tune is on that CD along with some other fine tradition and composed Swedish tunes of a traditional nature.
Here is my version, vertually the same but slightly different in a few places.
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: Mazurka
K: G
||: D>G B2 D>G | B2 B4 | c>B A>G F>G | A2 A4 | D>F A2 D>F | A2 A4 | d>c B>A G>A | 1 B2 B4 :|| 2 B2 c2 d2 |
||: e2 e>d c>e | d2 d>c B>d | c>B A>G (3 FGA | G2 G>B d2 |
e2 e>d c>e | d2 d>c B>d | c>B A>G (3 FGA | G2 G4 :||

# Posted on January 2nd 2012 by hetty

This is one of my favourite clips of the tune - in Tokyo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_8ylhYJ15c

# Posted on January 2nd 2012 by Weejie