Annotation:Homeward Bound (1)
Tune properties and standard notation
HOMEWARD BOUND [1]. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Prince Edward Island. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'. Ken Perlman, who researched fiddling styles on Prince Edward Island, notes that this reel is frequently heard played in the eastern half of the Island (where it was known as one of the 'good old tunes') but believes that it was originally from the Canadian Maritime Provinces, though it bears a strong resemblance to the tune "Gem of Ireland" in Ryan's Mammoth/Cole's 1000. On PEI it is often heard in a medley with "Jerome's Farewell to Gibralter." Paul Cranford (1994) states that "Homeward Bound" is derivative of the "Gem" tune which he identifies as a 19th-century Irish reel. It has been recorded by Cape Breton fiddler Dan R. MacDonald (78 RPM), and more recently by Cape Breton harmonica player Tommy Basker.
Source for notated version: Angus McPhee (Mt. Stewart, P.E.I.) [Ken Perlman/Fiddler Magazine]; Peter Chaison Jr. (B. 1942, Bear River, North-East Kings County, PEI) [Perlman]; fiddler Brenda Stubbert (b. 1959, Point Aconi, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) [Cranford]; Rory MacDonald (Cape Breton) [MacQuarrie].
Printed sources: Cranford (Brenda Stubbert's), 1994; No. 48, p. 17. Fiddler Magazine, Spring 1995; p. 11. MacQuarrie (Cape Breton Collection), 1940. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 69.
Recorded sources: Atlantica Music 02 77657 50222 26, Brenda Stubbert - "Atlantic Fiddles" (1994). Stubbert Music 1, Brenda Stubbert - "House Sessions" (1992). Marimac Recordings, "The Old Time Fiddlers of Prince Edward Island" (1993). RC2000, George Wilson - "Royal Circus" (2000). Rounder CD7014, Leonard McDonald - "Fiddlers of Western Prince Edward Island" (1997).