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It always seems good to break
stereotypes. Over the years, stereotypes of harpists have abounded.
Generally, the “typical” performer is woman sitting behind a huge concert
harp on the orchestra’s edge. She seems too angelic to be human, yet she
seriously strokes the strings from one end of the harp to the other as she
transforms messages from a god or goddess into music. Trite, eh?
Fortunately, harpists such as
Loreena McKennitt, Dee Carstensen, Sue Richards, and Fiona Davidson, among
others, working within folk and/or rock music fields, have dispelled that
generalization. Folk musician and Celtic harpist Jo Morrison now joins
those ranks with The Three Musics, her debut release.
Morrison states that
traditionally there were three musics available to Celtic harpists: mirth,
sorrow, and sleep. On this CD, she strives to demonstrate and even intermingle
all three via very traditional sounding pieces (including two O’Carolan
tunes), her own composition, and dance tunes that embody more contemporary
musical energy that might be anticipated.
“They Stole My Wife That
Night” is such a piece. Bobby Read’s light yet jazzy clarinet is not
the instrument usually associated with a harpist playing a traditional
strathspey. Morrison admits that she is not sure if this song was meant to
represent mirth or sorrow, and Read’s clarinet echoes that ambivalence.
It’s a curious choice that works and allows the listener to determine the mood
on his or her own.
Morrison’s “covers” of
Turlough O’Carolan, an 18th-century Irish harper whose tunes probably are
almost obligatory for any Celtic harpist, aren’t typical either. Again,
her choice of accompaniment helps them stand out. (Indeed, out of 16 tracks,
Morrison plays solo only on three, with Sue Richards joining her -- dueling
harps, perhaps? -- on a fourth exclusively harp selection.) Rick
Schmidt’s cello gently lulls in the background at the start of “Clergy
Lamentation,” then it flourishes to share the melody with the harp. Fred
Lieder’s cello and Walt Michael’s hammered dulcimer help the harp create
imagery on “Fanny Poer.”
Several tracks are educational
as they demonstrate the different musical possibilities available to Celtic
musicians. For example, Morrison pairs two marches, “Arthur Bignold of
Lochrosque” and “The March of the King of Laois” to demonstrate the
contrasts between two marches. The former is Scottish and light and airy;
the latter is Irish and slower with a more contemplative tone.
The CD’s title and closing
track, composed by Morrison specifically for the album, is meant to integrate
mirth, sorrow, and sleep. Cathy Alles’ flute, later joined by
Schmidt’s cello, helps Morrison create an almost Elizabethan-sounding ambience
to start, which later evolves into a more traditional-sounding dance tune, and
concludes with a peaceful harp solo that brings on the feeling of solace rather
than sleep.
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