As great lovers of traditional music, Rosemary Standley and François Lazarevitch were bound to meet one day. The founding leader of Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien proposed collaborating on a programme of English ballads with the iconic singer from the legendary rock band Moriarty, who has already recorded two equally iconic albums for Alpha, Love I Obey (Alpha 538) and Schubert in Love (Alpha 418): 'This repertoire suits her musical style and her voice perfectly; she brings her experience of folk music and popular song. The old ballads that Child and Sharp collected in the late 19th century are classics of the genre.' Rosemary continues: 'This repertoire is magnificent. The essence of American folk music lies in these English, Scottish, and Irish ballads-it's a genre that resonates with me very naturally.' With a carefully chosen array of instruments-baroque harp, viola da gamba, pandora, Scottish bodhrán drum and, of course, the flutes and bagpipes so dear to Lazarevitch-plus a superb group of singers and musicians, Rosemary and François set sail for the North in the wake of Alfred Deller, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, and Simon & Garfunkel, who had also fallen in love with these tales of sailors, fairs, a tailor and his mouse, murder, betrayal, and revenge.
Christmas is a time of music and togetherness. With warmth, intimacy, and distinct roots in Nordic folk traditions, Dybfolt reimagines beloved songs of the season - from Danish classics to Nordic treasures - where winter's quiet reflection meets the vibrant spirit of folk music.
Contemporary folklore inspirations - Lodz Philharmonic Choir and it's guests on a new DUX album The album refers to the long tradition of folklore in Polish classical music. It is continued by the creators of the arrangements of folk melodies dedicated to the Lodz Philharmonic Choir. The album refers to the long tradition of folklore in Polish classical music. It is continued by the creators of the arrangements of folk melodies dedicated to the Lodz Philharmonic Choir and featured on the album. The arrangements vary - from those closer to popular music, through sounds typical of national folk song and dance ensembles, to those representing a classical approach, with rich harmonies and inconspicuous folk motifs. The abundant number of performers is noteworthy - in addition to the excellent choir with a typically classical sound, the recording also features traditional singing, a string quartet in jazz and folk aesthetics and vocals typical of popular music. Each of the composers is inspired by folklore in a slightly different way, which makes the compositions sound fresh and intriguing. The performers are artists with comprehensive experience, which is reflected in the creative approach they adopt to interpret both well-known and lesser-known traditional Polish melodies.
Already with their first album "Tanz' von innen", the Divinerinnen ensemble impressed with this slender sound ideal which challenges the typical sound of Viennese light music. Three years later, this is followed up with their new album "divinerisch!", for which the seven musicians seem to have distilled their style and aired it out - the Landler (country dance) doesn't sound like leather soles on a wooden floor, but like bare feet on a summer meadow. The cozy bedtime heaviness of the late hour, of wine and conviviality, which many associate with Viennese music, is not at all their thing. The Divinerinnen ensemble gives the melodies a radical breath of fresh air. And when you listen, you realize that as much as you like to wallow in melancholy and world-weariness from time to time, right now you need a new beginning and clarity. That's where the divinerisch way rises - to airy heights, where you can feel a fresh cool breeze in your ears: sharp and spicy, radiant and sparkling sound, delicate and light-footed melodies. More frizzante than spritz. Many a typical Viennese motif is thoroughly aired out. Many a newcoming piece is self-confidently divinerized. And when they dip a toe briefly and elegantly into the dirt during a spicy verse, you find them terribly charming and a bit sexy besides, these Divinerinnen. (Sandra Hupfauf)
Dan Evans is one of the leading Appalachian dulcimer players, a consummate & stylish guitarist and prolific composer, specialising in nature-themed music. He plays almost exclusively fingerstyle with considerable classical skill and his unique style incorporates elements of folk, classical & jazz genres. On this new album Dan uses a number of tunings, keys and modes on the dulcimer to evoke a wide variety of moods and he plays guitar in the rich and resonant Open C tuning. A Waltz Through The Woods is Dan's sixth studio album, superbly recorded and produced by Angus Wallace at Far Heath Studios in Northamptonshire. Here Dan is joined again by English actress and classically trained singer Rebecca Hallworth on vocals and international Jazzman Andy Crowdy on bass, guitar and percussion. New friend and violinist Sharon Sullivan completes the line up. The much-admired artwork is by Yorkshire artist Ian Scott Massie - himself, by coincidence, a dulcimer player, This new CD album holds seven waltzes, five folk songs, two modal dulcimer pieces, two guitar pieces and five new compositions by Dan. The fifty-minute album has nineteen tracks in total, running through the year's four seasons. A Waltz Through The Woods was not recorded to a click track; The songs need space to breathe, some of the pieces have time signature changes and several the pieces have timing variations. There is also a general relaxation and freedom of timing in some of Dan's music, known as rubato. Dan's thirty years' experience as a professional musician clearly shows in the calm, mature nature of this production. Manufacture was coordinated by Pure Music Manufacture in Manchester, UK and the replication was undertaken by Profact International BV in Holland, Europe. The 4 page digisleeve is devoid of plastic and the card is made from 70-90% recycled board. Hardcopy and digital distribution is courtesy of The Divine Art Recordings Group to all the usual internet channels. "With his own distinctive fingerpicking style Dan blends together an evocative and expressive mix of Folk, Pop, Classical and Jazz. The sound quality and mix of this recording is outstanding. Dan is backed beautifully by his regular accompanists; Rebecca Halworth on superb vocals and Andy Crowdy on double bass, guitar and percussion. They are joined by Sharon Sullivan who adds some perfectly placed violin. I thoroughly recommend this excellent album. It most certainly left me with a warm comfortable feeling of having journeyed a nature filled Waltz Through The Woods. " Paul Crocker for Nonsuch News magazine, UK For more information, please visit Dan's website: www. English-dulcimer. #com
Traditional Sicilian culture, from its language to various coded systems of myth and ritual, from its techniques of expression to their practiced forms, is the result of a stratification of elements attributable to each of the diverse ethnic stocks which in turn dominated this great island, located in the center of the Mediterranean (Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Islamic Berbers, Normans, Swabians, Frenchmen, Spaniards). The forms and styles of its traditional music, affected by these processes of hybrid growth, were also in one way or another marked by the archetypes of Sicily’s successive civilizations. As Ottavio Tiby stated, 'People listened to Greek nomos, the Byzantine hymn, the Arab maqam, the courtly troubadour ballad and the lied of the Minnesänger down to the opulent polyphony of the 16th-17th century!' (Studio introduttivo to the Corpus di musiche popolari siciliane by Alberto Favara, Palermo 1957).
This CD presents an anthology of the most remarkable vocal and instrumental typologies of traditional Sicilian music.
Ode & Ballade by Skye Consort & Emma Björling brings stories of medieval saints and sacred wells, fair maidens outsmarting presumptuous knights, beautiful or boisterous drinking songs, thieves meeting their fate, heartbreaking love songs, groovy dance tunes, and celebrations of the return of Spring. The album combines elements from world music and classical traditions to narrate poems, tales, legends, and sonnets from Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, France and more.
Skye Consort was formed in 1999 to bring an art-music aesthetic to folk music from different world traditions. They have performed and toured extensively with various collaborators and released seven full-length albums. In November and December of 2018, in collaboration with Emma Björling, Skye Consort created a new repertoire sourced from Scandinavian, Québecois, and Celtic roots. Skye Consort & Emma Björling won the OPUS award for Best World Music Album 2019.
Listen to Ode & Ballade wherever you stream your music.
O’er the Moor - Songs & Dances from Scotland & Ireland
Alpha
CD
$20.99Mar 29, 2024
The Kraken Consort was born in 2021 from the imagination of three musicians, friends and colleagues: theorbist Bruno Helstroffer, soprano Chantal Santon Jeffery and tenor Robert Getchell, a Celtic music enthusiast. They share a taste for traditional oral and improvised music, and were keen to team up with instrumentalists with in-depth experience of traditional music: Ronan Pellen (cistre), Brewen Favrau (piper), Sylvain Barou, David Lombardi and Laurene Durantel. For their debut album, Kraken Consort revisit the Irish and Scottish musical tradition.
Heading back on the road after the COVID-19 Pandemic, we brought (almost) an hour's worth of new material along with us: Evolve & Travel is that music. We’re releasing this album on the heels of our tenth year together as a group, and Evolve & Travel is a culmination of lessons we learned along the way. From an unlikely group of students who just happened to be in string quartet formation, to an indescribable smush of string quartet, folk band, and singer-songwriter(s), over the years we have grown into ourselves as an ensemble, as composers, and as equal partners in this wild venture that is Invoke.
Evolve & Travel showcases that journey, focusing on the strengths of Karl and Nick as songwriters/composers and letting us as a group completely abandon any semblance of formality and tradition to focus on what makes us Invoke – best friends who make the music they love to hear.
Limited four vinyl LP box set. Nanci Griffith's Working in Corners box set celebrates the country icon's first four albums: There's a Light Beyond These Woods (1978), Poet in My Window (1982), Once in a Very Blue Moon (1984), and GRAMMY-nominated The Last of the True Believers (1986). The set includes expansive liner notes by producer Jim Rooney and writer Holly Gleason, along with rare photographs.
The Working In Corners boxset includes Nanci Griffith's first four albums: There's A Light Beyond These Woods, Poet In My Window, Once In A Very Blue Moon, and GRAMMY-nominated The Last Of The True Believers. The set includes expansive liner notes by producer Jim Rooney and writer Holly Gleason, along with rare photographs. Her trailblazing career caused Rolling Stone to dub Nanci Griffith as "one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved veterans of the country-folk-pop scene." 4 CD Boxset.
Ljus och lykta (Light & Lantern): Swedish Shanties, Ballads & Love Songs
Caprice
CD
$20.99Sep 16, 2022
Debutants Ljus och lykta (meaning "Light and lantern") is a fresh breath of air on the Swedish music scene. A versatile musical experience, Ljus och lykta performs all kinds of traditional Swedish songs - ballads, love songs, shanties and more. While their music is firmly rooted in the Scandinavian tradition, Ljus och lykta also finds inspiration in other musical genres, such as bluegrass and British folk. At the core of the Ljus och lykta sound, we find the crisp, edgy voices of Klara von Huth and Annika Hammer. Vega Nordkvist’s forceful fiddling and Anton Larsson’s groovy guitar provide a steady backbone for the intertwining voices.
Schubert: Lass Irre Hunde Heulen / Knyphausen, Schumacher
Neue Meister
CD
$15.99$20.99Save 25%Sep 24, 2021
With "Lass irre Hunde heulen", German singer/songwriter Gisbert zu Knyphausen and pianist Kai Schumacher have dedicated an entire album to one of the greatest composers of the 19th century, Franz Schubert. With a catalogue of over 600 works, Schubert is considered the master of the romantic art song; 10 selected tracks form the well-chosen cross-section through all his creative phases, arranged in a modern way and interpreted in an extraordinary style. A band line-up of drums, bass and guitars forms the sonic foundation, which is enriched by strings and winds and rounded off by Gisbert's smooth vocals. The two musical and biographical universes of the two "songwriters" merge without any residue, while at the same time Gisbert zu Knyphausen gives Schubert's well-known songs his very unique touch.
This rare Guthrie recording is a fluke of sorts in that it's existence is linked somewhat ironically to the fortuitous collection of folklore on what today is considered an outmoded and virtually obsolete recording technology: wire recordings. The two wire recordings on which these historic performances were found were lost for more than half a century. Discovered in a storage closet in the Florida home of Paul Bravemian, the wire recordings were donated to the Woody Guthrie Archives in 2001.
Enjoy 30 selections of Appalachian, Shape-Note, Shaker, Gospel, bluegrass, and other traditional folk music from 1930's America, recorded LIVE at the 2019 Christmas Revels in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “2019’s Christmas Revels isn’t just set in the American heartland, it comes from the American heart.” (Boston Globe) “I can’t recall a Christmas Revels production better than this one, timed to recall the spirit of the holiday and the traditions that unite us as a nation.” (Iris Fanger, Cambridge Chronicle) “Revels’ exploration of the roots of American music covers a wide geographic swath from New England to the South. The musicians are top-notch...Carolyn Saxon slays with her vocals!” (Broadway World)
Two musicians stand in a crowded pub on the Irish island of Inis Oírr; a flame-haired girl silences the room with a quiet unaccompanied song - Molly's voice was worth the silence. An impulsive decision follows, and at sunset the next day, Molly, Adam and Cormac meet at a timeless shipwreck on the wild Atlantic shoreline. They sit on a rock and a simple traditional song emerges - just voice, fiddle and bodhrán. No rehearsal, no arrangement - the song performed intuitively... The seed of an idea that grows into The Haar, the lineup completed when Molly and Murray (accordion) meet for the first time in the studio to record Irish traditional songs tackling love, poverty and oppression - subjects that link the peoples of these islands. In the studio, the music flows from the band's first notes together - reminiscent of the haar, a sea mist that rolls in from the Irish and North Seas: fleeting, intangible, headily thick, suddenly overwhelming and then unexpectedly clearing for a glimpse of precious sunlight. The band make no plans, just letting the music create itself; the tracks on the album are the first and only versions, as unpredictable and ephemeral as the haar itself.
Wisps in the Dell - Arrangements of Traditional Celtic Folk Songs
Olde Focus Recordings
CD
$20.99Oct 04, 2019
In the late-classical era, an Edinburgh publisher commissioned the most famous composers in continental Europe to orchestrate traditional Scottish folk songs in their original English. A lush sampling of this music is performed here by Makaris, a new early-music super-group headed by soprano Fiona Gillespie. (Olde Focus)
JUST AROUND THE BEND: SURVIVAL & REVIVAL / VARIOUS
SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS
CD
$36.69Sep 20, 2019
Mike Seeger, along with his wife Alexia Smith and filmmaker Yasha Aginsky, trekked through the Appalachian Mountains in 2009 to produce this extraordinary glimpse of the vigor and diversity of the region's old-time banjo artistry. When Seeger passed away later that same year, the project took on the added importance of paying tribute to this renowned musician, folklorist, and documentarian of the people. Just Around the Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Sounds captures many banjo lineages, styles, and techniques-performed by 19 virtuosic banjo players.
Skye Consort & Emma Björling perform a mix of traditional music from Québec, Sweden, Norway, and Celtic music. Each musician brings their own interpretation to these traditions, creating this awesome collaboration, consisting of voices, fiddle, nyckelharpa, cello, and cittern. The result is an assortment of whirling polskas, groovy reels, passionate love songs, breathtaking hymns, and original compositions. Skye Consort met during a La Nef project in 2017 and with the serendipitous cancellation of a flight decided to form a band. Skye Consort has been accompanying singers since 2000 and has recorded 5 albums with singers such as Matthew White, Shannon Mercer and Michael Slattery. Emma Björling, on lead voice and shruti box is an award-winning Swedish singer, composer, arranger, active in the renowned Scandinavian bands Kongero and Lyy.
Adam Summerhayes and Cormac Byrne write of their new release: "This album is the result of an experiment, our goal was to create something from that very sacred space that lies between composition and improvisation. Fascinated by the unique energy generated live where performer and audience are locked in a moment of unplanned creativity, a moment where anything and everything can happen, we vowed to delve into this pool of creativity and unleash it's energy onto record. Our intention was to create an album of bodhran and fiddle music. As the recording session grew ever closer. It became clear that making an album of solely bodhran and fiddle music would somehow not tell the full story. Why impose those limitations anyway? Artistically we had more to offer and could enrich this music with diverse flavors. Inspired by the folk tale of the 'Stone Soup', we began to assemble raw ingredients. I scanned my rehearsal space for the appropriate additional sounds. Seeking to include instruments that I had yet to experiment with in recording. Each track, one by one, found it's feet and fell into form. Often a track flowed from beginning to end in a single take. Other times we'd record a segment, listen back and feel where to go from there. The order in which the album appears is almost identical to that in which it was recorded. The result is strangely coherent: linked improvisations that appear almost as a pre-meditated. It forms an album in the traditional sense: a work that is intended to be listened to as a whole. We truly hope you enjoy this album as much as we enjoyed making it."
Saydisc presents this double album of traditional songs from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The tracks have been curated from Saydisc's extensive catalog, and only the very best have been included. Native and traditional musicians are featured on this release, offering up an authentic experience, with artists such as The McPeake Family Trio, Ray Fisher, Margaret Barry, Siwsann George, Thomas Hardy, and others performing. Lyrics to all of these songs are included in the liner notes, as well as translations for songs performed in traditional Welsh and Gaelic languages.
John Metcalfe, who arranges songs for big names such as Coldplay, Simple Minds and The Pretenders, has produced albums with Peter Gabriel and has been touring for decades as a member of the Duke Quartet. Now he releases his debut album on the Neue Meister label. Metcalfe has always been surrounded by music. As a child, he would listen to his father sing opera, before a love of Kraftwerk and Joy Division led to a stint as a drummer in a high school band. But it was a move to Manchester that really accelerated his development as an artist, and led to him finding his true calling. Joining cult band The Durutti Column, then signed to legendary label Factory Records, brought him into the orbit of Tony Wilson and the Haçienda, formative events that would help foster his renegade spirit. Unimpressed with the strictures demanded by the classical recording industry, Metcalfe persuaded Wilson to launch the ground-breaking Factory Classical Label, aimed at unearthing exciting - and unconventional - new British talent. It was here that Metcalfe found a home, and the group that would come to define his musical career; the Duke Quartet. For nearly 30 years, they've existed at the vanguard of contemporary British music, innovating and delighting in equal measure. As a solo artist, Metcalfe explores electro-classical soundscapes and the boundaries between genres. His finely tuned compositions are neat yet grand in scale, both in terms of sound and the conceptual ideas underpinning them. Absence, the fifth record to bear his own name, is something of a departure for Metcalfe, framing bold images and themes with some of the most conventional song structures he's ever employed. But it's also his most affecting, deconstructing a subject he's been interested in since his childhood in New Zealand: Dealing with loss.
When we use the terms "Greek traditional," "Grek folk," or "Greek demotic" music today, we mean songs and tunes coming from the past, from areas that were home to Christian farmers, shepherds and sailors during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Mostly- though not exclusively- Greek speaking, these populations lived, as was normal then, in close proximity with other ethnic, linguistic, or religious groups. In these areas, some of which now form modern-day Greece, the oral tradition of folk song and ecclesiastical music were the only available forms of musical expression. This album is the highly anticipated re-release of the 1980 album of the same name, extended with tracks licensed from the Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association. Domna Samiou (1928-2012) was a charismatic and multifaceted personality who dedicated her life to a quest which is now synonymous with her name: the preservation, dissemination and teaching of Greek traditional "folk" music.
John Metcalfe, who arranges songs for big names such as Coldplay, Simple Minds and The Pretenders, has produced albums with Peter Gabriel and has been touring for decades as a member of the Duke Quartet. Now he releases his debut album on the Neue Meister label. Metcalfe has always been surrounded by music. As a child, he would listen to his father sing opera, before a love of Kraftwerk and Joy Division led to a stint as a drummer in a high school band. But it was a move to Manchester that really accelerated his development as an artist, and led to him finding his true calling. Joining cult band The Durutti Column, then signed to legendary label Factory Records, brought him into the orbit of Tony Wilson and the Hacienda, formative events that would help foster his renegade spirit. Unimpressed with the strictures demanded by the classical recording industry, Metcalfe persuaded Wilson to launch the ground-breaking Factory Classical Label, aimed at unearthing exciting - and unconventional - new British talent. It was here that Metcalfe found a home, and the group that would come to define his musical career; the Duke Quartet. For nearly 30 years, they've existed at the vanguard of contemporary British music, innovating and delighting in equal measure. Working with world-renowned artists across the entire cultural spectrum, from pop, dance, film, TV, and theatre, Metcalfe honed his arranging and producing skills; he's now one of the UK's most sought after arrangers, regularly working with some of biggest names in music. As a solo artist, Metcalfe explores electro-classical soundscapes and the boundaries between genres. His finely tuned compositions are neat yet grand in scale, both in terms of sound and the conceptual ideas underpinning them. Absence, the fifth record to bear his own name, is something of a departure for Metcalfe, framing bold images and themes with some of the most conventional song structures he's ever employed. But it's also his most affecting, deconstructing a subject he's been interested in since his childhood in New Zealand: Dealing with loss.
The Beauty of Bells: Church Bells, Handbells, Carillons from
Saydisc
CD
$20.99Sep 07, 2018
Tune playing on handbells has been practiced in England for many hundreds of years, originally on small sets of about twelve bells intended primarily for change ringing. Later, much larger sets of at least five octaves were used to thrill Victorian audiences with selections from operetta, oratorio and the popular music of the day. The art of playing music on large sets of bells I snow little known although, in it's heyday, handbell ringing was as popular as brass band playing and in some parts of the North of England almost every village could boast a team. The works on this release were compiled from three previous Saydisc albums: 'Ringing Clear- the Art of Handbell Ringing,' 'Church Bells of England,' and 'Church Bells of Britain.' The pieces include "off the table" style works, "four in hand" style works, "change ringing," and "carillons."
Swedish Jazz History- a series of album compilations released by Caprice Records- chronicles jazz in Sweden with representative recordings up until the 1970s. Volume 11 is a comprehensive set of four albums with a total of 62 tracks, including some unissued items. It presents a vast selection of music by artists such as Alice Babs, Monica Dominique, Nannie Porres, Monica Zetterlund, Lars Gullin, Georg Riedel, Bernt Rosengren, The Swedish Radio Jazz Group, and more. Many sources of studio and live recordings are used from different locations in Sweden. This album reflects Swedish jazz of the 1970s, characterized by internationalization and intercultural influences. Foreign Sweden-based artists like Red Mitchell, Maffy Falay and Okay Temiz worked with Swedish musicians. For instance, with its Turkish influences, the Sevda group was a forerunner in what would later develop into the World Music genre. The 1970s was a musically rich decade where older jazz coexisted with new, freely improvised forms, influenced by both American and European avant-garde artists. Different kinds of Fusion, mixing jazz with other styles and expressions, became popular, such as Jazz Rock/ Jazz Funk.
CONZASIEGGE is an expression in the dialect of Molfetta (a town in Apulia), indicating an ancient craftsman: the man who repaired chairs. Vincenzo Valente (1830-1908) was inspired by the “chant” of those trying to draw the attention of this craftsman, when he created his funeral march that he therefore called “Conzasiegge”. This record collects five of the most beautiful marches that animate the Holy Week processions in Molfetta, introduced by the typical sound of the “Ti te” that opens every procession. The original feature of this repertoire in the album is its version for mandolins that in the 1940s saw the barbers, especially Sabino Andriani, as refined and cultured amateurial players.
What makes a vintage year? What does the 2016 vintage of Swiss folk music taste like? 27 hours of live recordings from the Zurich Tonhalle have been put in the wine press and have here been reduced to 80 minutes of music - 20 tracks by 19 different ensembles are the result. Folk music is a cultural heritage that has grown up over thousands of years, nourished by the topography of Switzerland and by the life and love for music of our predecessors. Every generation passes on the fruits of the generations before it, and adds its own life experiences to the mix. All kinds of things are tried out and tested, and even the blues is ground up among the glaciers until it comes out singing à la Suisse. Here, then, are the main characteristics of 2016.
In 2012, Emilia Amper’s solo debut disc Trollfageln (‘The Magic Bird) was a revelation. Not only to those who had never before heard the silvery sound of the nyckelharpa (‘keyed fiddle’), but also for the way Emilia on it combined her roots in Scandinavian folk music with her very own and individual voice. Lux, her new album, confirms the promise of the earlier disc- a selection of her own compositions and traditional Swedish and Norwegian tunes which she performs solo and with a group of musician friends in various constellations. With its roots stretching back to medieval Europe, the nyckelharpa almost died out in the middle of the twentieth century, but has made a remarkable comeback and is attracting an increasing number of performers in Sweden and around the world. Firmly grounded in Swedish traditional music, Emilia Amper has also worked with musicians from many other backgrounds, and can be regarded as an important ambassador for her instrument, but also for the inquisitive and open spirit which characterizes modern folk music.
