Music & Films

250 years of Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is one of the hymns written by John Newton in the small market town of Olney in Buckinghamshire, England, where Dan Evans has lived with his wife Mary for the past 28 years. 

a little history (in a very brief nutshell)

The remarkable story goes that English-born Newton became ill in Sierra Leone on the west coast of Africa and was cared for by the local people.  Later, he worked on the slave-ships which transported millions of black Africans in appalling conditions, from Sierra Leone to the Caribbean, to work in the cotton fields and sugar plantations.  One wild night a severe storm threatened to capsize Newton’s ship and later, as a consequence, he became a ‘storm convertite’.  Newton then regretted his former ways and became a clergyman, preaching at St Peter & St Paul Church here in Olney, where his pulpit can still be seen.

Newton went on to support William Wilberforce to succeed in getting the abolition of slavery bill through Parliament, known as the ‘Slave Trade Act 1807’.  2007 saw celebrations here in Olney of the bi-centenary of the bill to abolish slavery.  (Ironically, Dan was working at a dulcimer festival in Indiana, USA at the time but was honoured to be invited to close the festival by performing Amazing Grace on the dulcimer, a feat which he repeated in 2017.)

Now in 2023, 250 years after the authoring of the hymn Amazing Grace, celebrations abound around the world, especially here in Olney, which is now known as ‘The Home Of Amazing Grace’.  A new Amazing Grace Orchard has been planted this year in Olney and was formally opened on the 9^th July this year.

Cowper & Newton Museum

The Cowper & Newton Museum, here in Olney is a repository for all things relating to the hymn and its author.  The Museum’s website holds much information about the remarkable story of Amazing Grace as well as local events to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the hymn.

join in the celebrations (free TAB)

Dulcimer players as well as other musicians and singers are invited to sing and play Amazing Grace wherever you live this year to commemorate its 250^th anniversary.  Here is some notation and TAB that may help for singers and mountain dulcimer players …

• Amazing Grace as a song with chords in DAA tuning
• chord charts and picking patterns for the song
• Amazing Grace as a dulcimer instrumental in DAA tuning
• simplified version for dulcimer in Bagpipe tuning

photographs of Olney

As a retired photographer, Dan has captured many local images.  A few further photographs of Olney and its environs can be seen here.

Le Ruisseau Du Moulin – dulcimer live

Le Ruisseau Du Moulin (The Mill Stream) is an original minimalist composition by Dan Evans for mountain (Appalachian) dulcimer performed here live in Kathy Brown’s famous and beautiful garden in Stevington, near Bedford (UK) in august 2023

Dan is playing a Doug Berch di-chromatic dulcimer in Bagpipe tuning (BBB)

Mary Evans took the photos of Dan playing, interspersed with Dan’s own photography of the Garden

Tumbling Skies – dulcimer live

an original composition (in key of C) by Dan Evans for mountain (Appalachian) dulcimer performed here live (in key of E) in Kathy Brown’s famous and beautiful garden in Stevington, near Bedford (UK) in august 2023

Dan is playing a Doug Berch di-chromatic dulcimer tuned to EBB

thanks to Mary Evans for iPhone photos of Dan playing

two modal pieces – dulcimer live

two traditional pieces arranged for mountain (Appalachian) dulcimer and performed here by Dan Evans in Kathy Brown’s famous and beautiful garden in Stevington, near Bedford (UK) in august 2023 – Dan is playing a Doug Berch di-chromatic dulcimer

1. Johhny O’Braidislea & Johhny I hardly Knew Ya (Dorian mode / EBA tuning), followed by …

2. The Banks Of The Lee (Aeolian mode / DAC tuning) – Dan’s wife, Mary took the photos of Dan playing on her iPhone and Dan took the photographs of the garden

Paved In Gold & Varsoviana – dulcimer live

original prelude: Paved In Gold (D.Evans) followed by a Viennese waltz: Varsoviana (trad.) arranged for mountain (Appalachian) dulcimer and performed here by Dan Evans in Kathy Brown’s famous and beautiful garden in Stevington, near Bedford (UK) in august 2023 – Dan is playing a Doug Berch di-chromatic dulcimer tuned to EBB – to shelter from the rain, Dan performed in Kathy’s gazebo – Mary Evans took the photos of Dan playing, interspersed with Dan’s own photography of the Garden

The Garden Waltz duet

the Garden Waltz is one of Dan’s nature-themed compositions – imagine having cream teas on the lawn of an English country garden – then, being in England, it rains, then thunders, then rains again, ending on a jazzy chord, symbolising a rainbow from a repentant sky

performed fingerstyle on my old Flyde Goodfellow guitar in Open C tuning (CGCGCE) with good friend and international classical guitarist Martin Vishnick

live at Kathy Brown’s garden ~ III

guitar instrumentals: Plain Sailing (D Evans) interlude & The Garden Waltz (D Evans)

performed on Dan’s Auden Chester cutaway guitar in Open C tuning (CGCGCE) using delay effects from the Boss DD-500 and sampling/looping using the Boss RC-30

The Garden Waltz is one of Dan’s nature-themed compositions – imagine having cream teas on the lawn of an English country garden – then, being in England it rains – you’ll hear thunder, the pitter patter of rain, a downpour, more rain then, at the end, the repentant sky offers a rainbow as an apology

live at Kathy Brown’s Garden ~ II

the guitar instrumental version of the song Which Will (by nick Drake) & (Evans’ own) Chinese Water Garden, about water cascading down small rock pools – is followed by Dan’s own Waves, a guitar instrumental about waves lapping on a lonely shingle beach

both are performed in Kathy Browns’ famous garden in Stevington, Bedfordshire on Dan’s Auden Chester cutaway acoustic guitar in Open C tuning (CGCGCE) using delay effects from the Boss DD-500 and sampled sounds from the Boss RC-30 loop station

Nick Drake (1948 – 1974), was a British singer/songwriter/guitar player, whose fame grew after his death – in the song Which Will, Nick perhaps airs his depression over his music not being more popular, a sentiment shared by many songwriters no doubt

live at Kathy Brown’s garden ~ I

‘Mary’ a new original guitar piece by Dan Evans and his arrangement of Turlough O’ Carolan’s Si Beag Si Mhor, performed live at Kathy Brown’s famous garden in Stevington, Bedfordshire

both performed on Dan’s Auden Chester cutaway guitar in Open C tuning, capo’ed to key of D

‘Mary’ is dedicated to Dan’s wife: Mary Evans

Turlough O’ Carolan (1670 – 1738) was a famous blind Irish harper, considered by many to be Ireland’s national composer ~ many of his tunes are called Planxties, a term that O’ Carolan might have invented, meaning

Si Beag Si Mhor, meaning ‘Small Fairy Mound, Big Fairy Mound’, is one of O’ Carolan’s most popular compositions and might refer to two small hills, possible burial sites, from his birth county of Meath

South Wind film

officially called The South Wind, this is an old Irish folk song about homesickness

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