Personnel: Molly Mason (vocals, guitar, piano, bass); Christine Balfa (vocals, triangle); Dirk Powell (banjo, fiddle, accordion); Keith Murphy (mandolin); Jay Ungar, John Kirk, Kevin Wimmer, Mary Lea (fiddle); Abby Newton (cello); Jeremiah McLane (accordion, piano); Harry Aceto, Steve Rust, Ganey Arsement (bass); Gary Burke (percussion); Ruth Ungar (background vocals); Nashville Chamber Orchestra.
Engineers: David Schober, Gregory K. Squires.
Recorded at Austin Pea State University, Clarksville, Tennessee; Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, New York; Glen Tonche Studios, Woodstock, New York.
Includes liner notes by Jay Ungar & Molly Mason.
Times of great and intense joy and love, and also times of horrible anguish and tears, are portrayed and echoed in this musical score and the playing, particularly of Jay's fiddle, and also with Molly's singing. It is a tremendously moving piece at both a very primitive and a very cerebral level, effectively fusing the folk tradition with orchestral music. It is a celebration of a simpler and more natural time involving communities that were in touch with the cycles of nature and with each other. The musicianship on this disc is absolutely stellar, whether it is the smaller groupings of the folk musicians or the Nashville Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul Gambrill. There are many shifts and changes in the music, and nary a step is missed in whichever format is used. The hauntingly beautiful waltz "Prairie Spring" closely mimics the coming of spring to the open Western prairies in its changes. There are too many special moments here to single a few out however I am going to mention "La Chason De Mardi Gras (Song of Fat Tuesday)," a traditional song from Cajun country in southwestern Louisiana. Here Jay and Molly use musicians from the stellar Cajun group Balfa Toujours to fullest advantage. Thanks to Angel Records for putting out this strongly recommended release. Jay and Molly, Jacquelyn Schwab, and Paul Horn are among the few who consistently put out music played straight from the heart. ~ Bob Gottlieb
Professional Reviews
Dirty Linen (2-3/00, p.68) - "...the strength of this CD is its presentation of sweet, moving, kitchen-table accounts of life linked to the seasons."
