Subtitled 'A Celebration of Celtic Harps', this edition of rare beauty and quality lives up to its promise! Containing primarily original arrangements of traditional tunes plus a couple of exquisite original compositions, the artists Debra Knodel and Jane Valencia weave a sonorous, spacious, magical sound tapestry. Highly recommended!
- Ladyslipper
On the traditional side, they offer much Scottish and Irish fare; "Lonesome
Road to Dingle, Chanter's Tune, Lochaber No More, Return to Fingal, Lisdoon",
and a couple of "sets" in the best tradition of Scottish piping
and fiddling... "Hebrides Dances" and three Shetland reels [Jack Broke
Da Prison Door/Donald Blue and Sleep Sound in da Mornin']... plus an ancient
Gaelic air called "the Fisherman's Song for Attracting Seals" that will
have you sniffing for salt air.
On the original side, Jane and Deb slip in delightful personal notes
in the form of "Winter Creek" and "Redlands", both tunes commemorating
childhood haunts. "Winter Creek" is for me the highlight of the album,
satisfyingly capturing both the sadness of times irrevocably past and the
joy of remembered beauty; the sort that stays with you always. It
is a piece I could listen to over and over (and often do). Its delicate
strains deposit me squarely back in landscapes from my own teenage years;
haunted magical pine forests in winter where I walked with my father in
the all-too-brief time shortly before he died. So that the reverie
is kept light, however, [any fleeting sadness only enhancing the beauty],
"Winter Creek" is followed by "Lauda", a 14th-century Italian piece beloved
of many harpers, light as a feather and twice as joyful. Non-harpers
wouldn't have to read the liner notes to
figure out this is a song of praise; and this is by far the loveliest
arrangement that I've ever heard.
And now we go Scottish again, with a satisfyingly cheerful jig version
of "Chanter's Tune". [As a piper, I just have to interject
here that it is a total delight to hear piping tunes played properly and
correctly on the harp, gracenotes, throws, doublings, birls and all!]
It's followed in wistful solemnity by the lament, "Lochaber No More";
but again, Deb and Jane do not let us dwell too much on sorrow. They
slip daintily and irresistibly into the "Waltz of the Little Girls".
Light as a sherbet, it quickly explodes into pure whimsical fun, as befits
a French tune learned from Scottish fiddlers. It's a brilliant and
unique
arrangement that once again demonstrates admirably that K & V are
much more than mere Celtic harpists.
Don't let the gentleness and hypnotic flow of "The Harper's Masque"
fool you; this is a very grounded and solid album, which only makes its
irresistibly ethereal flights even more glorious. If the faeries
ever
decide to steal any more mortal harpers away, it will undoubtedly be
Knodel and Valencia.
- Marya Miller, harpist
Debra Knodel and Jane Valencia are two virtuoso harpers with a fine
sense of musicality and the skill to combine the sounds of the nylon-strung
and wire-strung harps with percussion to create a mystical atmosphere,
leading the listener through vaguely familiar landscapes. Except
for two fine original compositions, all of the music here is traditional,
and the arrangements are fresh and highly original. For example,
the duo gives the familiar "Chanter's Tune" a dreamy introduction and then
evolve it tino a lively jig with complex variations punctuated by bodhran
and dumbek.
"Lochaber No More" is a serene and limpid Gaelic lament. The tone
patterns build up and are left to hang; intricate harmonies echo between
the two harps, give a kind of wind chime effect. A beautiful slow
air, a loving regret. "Winter Creek", by Debra Knodel, is a lovely
wistful wintry tune, with a melancholy English horn obligato, evoking
a calm landscape, cold and clear. "Redlands", by Jane Valencia,
uses open chords, angular progressions, and silences to suggest the open
spaces, hot landscapes, and canyons of the Southwest. An eerie mood
in "The Fisherman's Song for Attracting Seals" comes from high harp notes
over dark bass chords, piano, and a touch of cymbal. This is music
for a voyage through a sword and sorcery epic--an adventure not to
be missed.
California Traditional Music Society Journal, Sept.- Dec. 1994
The Harpers' Masque
reviewed by Bill McGill