I have been visiting the page of this wonderful project called the Cumbria Cardboard Harp Project by musician Mary Dunsford. I owe this discovery to my friend Scott Hoye who is a recording artist. He posted this in Celtic Harp (https://www.facebook.com/groups/celticharp/) for everyone to see.
This workshop teaches beginners how to play using cardboard lap harps, making the once challenging instrument more accessible. I think this is amazing! Everyone can do it. It simply makes this instrument less intimidating for people who think harps are difficult to learn.
Mary Dunsford is a harp teacher, professional musician and passionate ambassador to the harp. She has been teaching harp for a decade already, resulting to a publication of an instructional harp book for adult beginners. It isn’t too late to learn new things and this is what she has been teaching everyone.
If you are curious, please go ahead and like the Cumbria Cardboard Harp Project in facebook. You might find yourself a part of her workshop and really enjoy life and music to the fullest!
Celtic harp and flute. These are two instruments that sound like they’re made for each other. Flutist Nicole Rabata and harpist Danielle Langord will enchant you with their perky tracks. They make music that sounds like it comes from the fairies. There is this lively and sparkling quality in every track. Portland is their home base. Hear more about them.
Always expect energy when you listen to a Poitin album. These guys always deliver goods with gusto. Hot Days is an album that looks the way it sounds (note the chili pepper red cover that screams hot hot hot!). The introduction of the didgeridoo and the soprano sax are pleasant surprises. The album has everything that jumps and grabs you from behind.
Step It Out has Jeremy King’s superb vocals. Precision and tight musicianship are the things the band is known for.
For to Free. Wowwowow! The didgeridoo addition here is something I truly dig. It is the right ingredient to the track! It makes you feel like you are in Australia, wearing a kilt and jumping with kangaroos. It begins with this ambient sound of an old vinyl record being touched by a needle.
Who Are Youis a fast traditional song. Every nuance is captured in the recording. The crisp vocals and resonant fiddle jive together with the fiery guitar strums. This song makes me feel like a young man ready for action.
Springtime Frolics is a track I can sum up in one word: stunning. These guys record their albums live. Such precision is not easy to master. I read somewhere that they would do it over again if ever something goes wrong. It’s like me writing this review, having a lot of re-editing to do when the grammar goes wrong wink wink.
Crazy Man Michael starts a capella and then blossoms with a guitar. It is a great title track. It sings about a tragic incident. You know, I read that if you have some Irish in you, then you will understand that the more painful the song is, the more the singing gets better. With its bare arrangement, the vocals gain the dramatic effect making it one of the most memorable singing styles I have heard in years.
Hot Days is a track which begins with both the high and low whistles fencing each other tenderly. The mournful notes progress into a beautiful track with rich arrangements and incandescent beauty which calls to mind a phoenix rising from its ashes. The second half of the track jumps into a jig with an explosive chorus of other instruments.
Midsomer is an energetic traditional track that won’t let you stop tapping your feet.
A Bucket Full of Mountain Dew is another traditional track with fast singing. There are amazing vocal harmonies and a beautiful melody.
March Flowers is a jazzy jig which begins with the acoustic guitar, then the whistle and then other instruments join in. It has this swaying rhythm to it. It makes you think of seaside and relaxing afternoons. I noticed that there is a consistency of clean recordings all throughout the album.
For to Free really frolics into your mood and into your subconscious.
I Was A Young Man is a fast ballad about coming of age. There is great bodhran playing on top of the fiddling. The didgeridoo encapsulates the track like fine moth’s wings. It’s awesome!
Saxet is a jazzy traditional track with a vibe that smells of beer and chips. It is also a sexy track.
Curragh of Kildare ends the track with its amazing fiddling. Hot Days is an album that makes you realize that some very talented Irish music players are also found in the Czech Republic. This is world music at its finest. You can buy Hot Days here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/poitin5
Guys who are into Bluegrass and anything Americana might want to get themselves ensnared by the music of these six guys bringing you nothing but the freshness of homegrown freshly brewed American music. The good vibes of Bluegrass and Country music have made their way into my chest and now my head is moving back and forth while listening to tracks like Deep Ellum Blues and I Know You Rider. The band, Appalachian Still, is from Northampton Massachusetts and they have been around since 2005. Bring on the croissants, this is going to be a great day! Just give them a chance and who knows? You might get hooked, head over feet.
Members
Andrew Woodland: Clawhammer Banjo, Vocals & Management
Jared Libby: Guitar, Vocals, Recording & Engineering
Sean Mallari Upright Bass
Sam Barnes: Fiddle
Ivan Ussach: Drums/Percussion
Peter Nabut: Sound-Man
No two wire-strung harpists/players are the same. This is obvious in the kind of style that Jochen Vogel has been developing for years. Like guitars, violins and other instruments, the Clarsach is a very expressive instrument owing its grace not only to the player but the way it was constructed. The wood, the conditions that it has been exposed to becomes the result. Then you add the temperament of the player and the kind of musical background he or she comes from. What you get is a refreshing sound that is not like any of those that play the same instrument.
His music is jazzy and ‘modern’ that proves this ancient instrument can find a new place in mainstream audience as well as those that are passionate about the musical culture that it originated from. His rendition of Cancro Cru flows like waterfalls while Fields of Gold along with his cool singing (reminiscent of Chis deBurgh) will send generations of Starbucks crowd playing this as piped in music. Jochen Vogel has mapped his domain ahead of the others and created a kind of music that listeners will chill to for generations.
I have been writing about the harp community lately and I think this link will help everyone who is interested in the history as well as evolution of the Clarsach. Thanks to harpist Scott Hoye for bringing this to my attention.
Kitus are a French group based in Lyon France composed of Yannick Guyader (diatonic accordion), Sylvain Vuidart (flute, wood and metal), Luke Roche (violin) and Fabien Guiloineau (acoustic guitar, bouzouki). They play a brand of jazz influenced Celtic music combined with waltzes, mazurkas and even Latin rhythms. The album called “Après l’After” was released in 2009. One of their notable performances was in Gannat Cabaret Festival in 2011. They are on tour and you can check the details through their reverbnation page : http://www.reverbnation.com/kitus and details for purchasing the CD are found in their official website where you can also listen to the tracks for free.
Celtic Music Fan 