“Maiden’s Prayer” began as a piano piece by the Polish composer Tekla Badarzewska-Baranowska, published in the 1850s. The bandleader Bob Wills heard the melody played on a fiddle, recast it in the Western swing style, and recorded it in the 1930s as one of his signature tunes.
A graceful waltz, “Maiden’s Prayer” became a Western swing and country standard. As a fiddle tune it is prized for its sweet, flowing melody, a contrast to the breakdowns that fill most of the repertoire.
The tune is a favorite slow piece among fiddlers.
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