Category Archives: Music

Albion Country Band’s Battle of the Field, and The Albion Band’s 1990, Happy Accident, and Songs from the Shows

Irene Jackson Henry wrote this review for Folk Tales. “There’s a country band playing hand-me-downs.” The tangled vine that is the family tree of English folk-rock music has several long stems that wind through it, touching many other stems and … Continue reading

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Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma’s Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev Cello Sonatas

Matej Novak wrote this review. Of all the instruments of the orchestra, the cello is perhaps the most “human,” for lack of a better word. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine the sounds the instrument produces emanating … Continue reading

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Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44; Chanson Georgienne, Op. 4. No 4 (Utah Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Abravanel, cond.) Music by Russian composers in the twentieth century presents some interesting contrasts, not only between those who remained … Continue reading

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Spelarit’s Kalabaliikki and Tradivaara’s Kaikki Soitaa

Judith Gennett wrote this review. I picked these two nice Finnish dance-music albums up at a workshop in Vancouver, British Columbia. What a pleasure to listen to them! The seven to eleven-piece Spelarit is based in Vantaa, a northern suburb … Continue reading

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Denis McArdle’s Untold

Irish crooner Denis McArdle’s debut album as a singer-songwriter and interpreter of others’ songs runs the gamut from folk-rock to pop to chamber folk. McArdle, a native of Dublin, puts his classical training to good use on a dozen songs, … Continue reading

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Ian Anderson’s Rupi’s Dance

Ian Anderson is better known as the flute playing leader of one time heavy metal band of the year Jethro Tull. He is also an astute businessman, a blues fan, and a cat lover. That’s right! A cat lover. He’s … Continue reading

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The Bowhouse Quintet’s Live in Ennis

The Bowhouse Quintet has created a beautifully arranged recording of Irish traditional music that will appeal to both folk and classical audiences. The use of multiple fiddles along with the cello and bass as rhythm section will feel familiar to … Continue reading

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Interview with Värttinä’s Mari Kaasinen (March 2003)

In 1983 in the tiny, remote Finnish village of Rääkkylä, young sisters Sari and Mari Kaasinen founded a group called Värttinä. Originally created as an outlet for girls to sing traditional Karelian songs, Värttinä has evolved over the past twenty … Continue reading

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Sandy Weltman’s The Klezmer Nuthouse

Judith Gennett wrote this review. You may have been told at some point that bluegrass is a genre with rigid rules. Sometimes it is, but the rules have not restricted the musicians of the bluegrass underworld. They also have not … Continue reading

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Whapweasel’s Pack of Jokers

Whapweasel are celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2005, and what better way of celebrating than releasing a new album, their fourth I gather after a check on the band’s Web site. For those of you who do not know, Whapweasel … Continue reading

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