MAGGIE SANSONE, BONNIE RIDEOUT, SUE RICHARDS, ENSEMBLE GALILEI: Music In The Great Hall

Maggie Sansone, Bonnie Rideout, Sue Richards, Ensemble Galilei

Music In The Great Hall

© 1992 Maggie's Music, Inc

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

SPECIAL: 20% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!

Instrumental music from the ancient celtic lands performed in a wonderful historic hall on authentic folk and celtic instruments and elegant early music insruments- a perfect blending of the now popular chamber folk sound.

notes

Instrumental music from the ancient Celtic lands performed by Marcia Diehl on recorders and pennywhistle, Sue Richards on Celtic harp, Jim Brooks on recorders and concertina, Maggie Sansone on hammered dulcimer and guitar, Carolyn Surrick on viola da gamba, with guest musician Bonnie Rideout on Scottish fiddle. Recorded in the Great Hall of St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, an acoustic wonder that captures the warmth and richness of the musical instruments. Includes: Irish airs from the Bunting and O'Carolan Collections, jigs and reels from the Isle of Man and 15th-century Welsh tunes.


-Ensemble Galilei specializes in the performance of Celtic music, Early music and new compositions. Featuring Celtic harp, fiddle, Scottish small pipes, oboe, recorders, penny-whistle, viola da gamba and percussion, the repertoire ranges from instrumental arrangements of chant by Hildegard von Bingen, to Renaissance dance music, to chaconnes from the Baroque, to Irish jigs and reels, to music composed by the performers in the traditional style.
In 1994 Ensemble Galilei won a Wammie for "Best Chamber Ensemble" awarded by the Washington Area Music Association. Excerpts of their concerts have been heard on NPR's Performance Today over twenty times since 1990, including Christmas Day 1997, and the group has done two in-studio 30 minute concerts there. Ben Roe of Performance Today said "There's an ease about the way they play that seems to break down the barriers that normally exist between the audience and the performer. The repertoire is very engaging and the audience is clearly enthusiastic." They have been interviewed by Robert Siegel on All Things Considered and have performed and been interviewed on the Diane Rehm Show.
Also see maggie sansone, bonnie rideout recordings for complete bios.

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • wonderful music that touches my Celtic soul
    author: Mabel MacMillan

    Wonderful music from start to finish. I especially enjoyed listening to live performances of selections from "Mist and Stone",which has special sentimental value to me as it was the first CD that my husband and I purchased together. This is a wonderful CD!!

  • Very intimate live concert experiences
    author: Joe Ross

    Albums on the Maggie's Music label offer much to enthuse traditional music fans. This live project was recorded live in 1991 and 1992 at Annapolis, Md. by Ensemble Galilei, a group of six that gets its name and inspiration from Renaissance composer Vincenzo Galilei. They display some superior musicianship on a nice collection of favorites and less oft-heard pieces. Although the sound would've been a little more clean and crisp in a studio setting, it's not bad but still feels a little distant. I am particularly grateful that this album has only minimal applause that can be quite annoying on many live projects. Their arrangements are engaging and tastefully rendered, but "The Halting March" feels a tad bit rushed and overplayed by all the instruments. They clearly play with much relaxed showmanship, and it's certain that even these concerts in the Great Hall were very intimate musical experiences.

email

Please log in to email this artist.