21 May 2020Key Workers Waltz sets fiddler on course for the heart of Midlothian
A Welsh fiddler who composed a tune for a nurse in Pathhead, Midlothian was surprised to discover that it was being played by some of her favourite musicians.
Angharad Jenkins offered to write tunes as part of her band, Calan’s Crowdfunder scheme to raise money to cover loses made through concerts being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was commissioned by Andrew de Salis to write a tune for his sister, Ailsa Johnstone, who has been working for NHS in the frontline during the health crisis.
Angharad duly sent off Key Workers Waltz, not realising that Pathhead was home to a community of musicians, many of whose CDs are among the most frequently played in her collection.
“I’d never heard of Pathhead before and when Andrew got back in touch to thank me, I was amazed to learn that people like the singer-songwriter Karine Polwart and Martin Green, of Lau, were part of the community there and that they were all playing my tune,” says Angharad.
The tune, although originally written for Ailsa, is also dedicated to all key workers.
“Other musicians have taken it up,” says Angharad. “I saw someone on YouTube, with no connections to Pathhead, who had posted a video of himself playing it, and it’s the most exciting and thrilling thing to know that people are playing something I wrote.”