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Tune List
1. Scottish Bransle (Arbeau, 1589) 3:07
2. Celtic Jigs (Breton Jig/Castlebar/Train to Dublin (c).Maggie Sansone) 4:45
4. Breton An Dro 3:58
3. Circle Dance 4:34
5. Dancing Reels (Watchmaker/High Reel/Silver Spear) 4:14
6. The Butterfly Slip Jig Set (Comb Your Hair and Curl It/The Butterfly/Barney Brallaghan) 3:42
7. Variations on an Irish Air (Pretty Girl Milking a Cow) 3:26
8. Highland Boat Song ( Arran Boat Song) 2:58
9. Round of Loudéac/The Wren 3:01
10. Irish Reels ( Donegal Highland/Mother and Child/Woman of the House) 4:31
11. Maiden Lane (Playford, 1651) 2:35
12. Four Renaissance Dances ( Attaingnant, 1557) 3:57
Total Time: 45:26 minutes
liner notes from the CD BOOKLET:
ABOUT THE MUSIC
In
choosing this music, I was inspired by all of my musical
experiences—from performing on large concert stages to joining in on
Irish sessions at neighborhood pubs; playing a wedding processional
march, and jigs for a children's maypole; offering an elegant pavane to
King Henry VIII at a Renaissance festival and accompanying a set of
reels for Irish step dancers at a Celtic fair. Come join us now for a
festive gathering at the Celtic fair! Maggie Sansone.
Notes on the music
1 . Scottish Bransle (pronounced "brawl") A lively dance from the Renaissance published in Orchesographie (1589) by dance master Thoinot Arbeau ( 1520- 1595).
2. Celtic Jigs. Picture a musical journey starting on the rocky Brittany coast with the Breton Jig, traveling across the sea to Ireland with a stop at Castlebar , in the western part of Ireland, where you hop on a Train to Dublin , a 150-mile ride that will complete our journey! Thanks to Rob Greenway for teaching me Castlebar , the inspiration for my own composition, Train to Dublin.
3. Breton An Dro. An
Dro (Breton : "the turn") is an open circle dance in 2/4 with dancers
linking their pinky fingers. Brittany, one of the six Celtic nations is
located on the northwest coast of France and still retains its Celtic
culture and language to this day. Imagine a gathering of musicians in
colorful garb, instruments in hand, heading for merriment and revelry
at the castle fair.
4. Circle Dance. A traditional Breton
tune called an An Dro,where the dancers link their pinky fingers and go
around together in a circle.The melody is based on an ancient modal
scale typical of Celtic music and combined with its repeating phrases
it has a mezmerizing sound that draws you in this wonderful and
mysterious world of the ancient Celts. 5. Dancing Reels The Watchmaker/Highland Reel/Silver Spear. These are well-traveled tunes heard in Northumberland, Ireland, Scotland and America.
6. The Butterfly Slip Jig Set includes Comb Your Hair and Curl It ; The Butterfly , an Irish step dancing favorite that lends itself to jazzy rhythms; and Barney Brallaghan.
7 . Variations on Pretty Girl Milking a Cow. Solo hammered dulcimer. This begins with the melancholy refrain of the traditional Irish air and evolves into an upbeat mood.
8 . Highland Boat Song. A beautiful air from Scotland also known as The Arran Boat Song.
9. Round de Loudeac/ The Wren. A set of traditional Breton tunes.
10. Irish Reels. This set starts with Donegal Highland , played as a slow air that picks up tempo into two Irish session tunes, Mother and Child and Woman of the House .
11. Maiden Lane. An
English country dance tune that has become the "hit tune" at the
Maryland Renaissance Festival where my merry band of musicians and I
play it for King Henry and his court. I perform all of the parts
including a counter melody from Early Playford for Early Instruments, Book 2 (Marshall Barron, Playford Consort Publications)
12 . Four Renaissance Dances
(Première Suytte de Branles d'Ecosse). Four 16 th century
Renaissance dance tunes called branles ( pronounced "brawl") from The Attaingnant Dance Prints (1557) published by Pierre Attaingnant (ca.1529-ca.1557)
Musicians Maggie
Sansone: Hammered dulcimer, Scottish smallpipes (Tr. 3, 9); Bobby Read:
soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flutes (wooden flute, C
flute, alto flute, piccolo), keyboard percussion, and programming; Sara
Read : fiddle; Rob Greenway: guitar, Irish flute, button accordion.
Credits: Production, musical arrangements, engineering, mixing, mastering: Bobby Read, Small World Audio, Afton, VA, www.bobbyread.com
; Executive Producer, musical conception, hammered dulcimer
arrangements by Maggie Sansone; Bodhran drum samples by Paddy League;
CD Booklet design: Maggie's Music; Cover Photo: Carcassonne by Galen Frysinger, www.galenfrysinger.com .; Hammered dulcimer by Nicholas Blanton.
Thanks to Tina Chancey , Paul
Oorts, Karen Ashbrook, Ken Kolodner, Paddy League, Richard Crenshaw,
Connie McKenna, Betsy Chalfin, Emily and Norman Sokoloff & the
staff at Maggie's Music.
More recordings featuring Maggie Sansone:Mystic Dance, A Traveler's Dream, Celtic Meditations, Dance Upon the Shore, Mist & Stone Traditions; and Holiday recordings: Sounds of the Season, Sounds of the Season II, Merrily Greet the Time, A Scottish Christmas, Ancient Noels.
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