The Scottish Ocarina

[Jack Campin]

If you can access Spotify, look for Willie Kemp.

He is best known as traditional singer from the north-east of Scotland, but also played the ocarina. The track beginning with "Mackenzie Highlanders" is a sample of his style (accompanied by a melodeon). On some of the other tracks hs plays the jew's harp.

These recordings are from around 1930. They were re-released on the Scottish label Sleepytoon Records a few years ago, but the Spotify versions come from "Voice of the People", a vast compilation of British traditional music. The beginning of the Spotify track is also available in MP3 (much worse quality) at http://www.sleepytown.co.uk/curly.mp3 . That's a sample from the Sleepytoon CD, http://www.sleepytown.co.uk/YCD02.htm . Here's a review of the Sleepytoon disc: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/kemp.htm .

One of my ocarinas is a Mathieu low B flat I got off EBay, which had been left unsold at an auction house in Inverness. It probably dates from before WW1. It's a well-made instrument and not the sort of thing a casual non-musician would have bought. I couldn't trace its ownership back beyond the auction house, but it's a good bet that Willie Kemp knew whoever played it.

[Jack Campin]

And something... completely different.

A very odd and quite exhilarating version of "Scarce of Tatties" on the ocarina, preceded by a Caucasian lezginka and accompanied by drums, Caucasian clacker strip and cowbell:

http://www.antplat.ru/mp3/yatryshnik-cer...ucasus.mp3

Seems the guy is in Kazakhstan.

Not quite in the same league, "The Steamboat" on the chopo choor (Kyrgyz ocarina), with nice gracenotes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxLZMt5yPgg