Reviews

Carriages at Midnight

A new CD by Chris Duncan and Catherine Strutt

After a long wait, it has finally arrived, a Scottish Country dance CD from a dynamic duo from down under! Things to consider when purchasing a new Scottish Country Dance CD: l Who is playing? l What are the dances on the CD? l What tunes are used? l How is the music played and arranged? l How is the music recorded? (balance etc.)

Here’s my response:

1) Catherine Strutt playing piano and Chris Duncan playing fiddle combine to produce an exciting tapestry of music that begs you to dance! 2) Of the 12 tracks, the first six have been previously recorded, but you might discover that you will want to switch to a new rendition! Of those, The Inimitable Derek and The Trysting Place have only a couple of recordings available. The real surprise for me was the inclusion of The New Rigged Ship. It has been recorded so many times and yet with one listening, it will be getting plenty of use in the future. The Nurseryman, Anna Holden’s Strathspey and Catch the Wind round out the list of previously recorded dances. Then the new material: Alasdair’s Reels is an 8 x 32 set of Alasdair Fraser tunes and will be an extremely popular set of reels to pep up an evening. Dr. Neil S. MacLeod opens with another Alasdair Fraser tune and continues with traditional tunes that give us another wonderful set of strathspeys for that “any good” category. The Elusive Muse is a three times through jig by Tim Wilson of the San Francisco Branch RSCDS. There are two demonstration sets on this CD that will be very helpful for those groups without musicians to support their performances. They include dance on/off and introductions to each rhythm change. The CD concludes with Auld Lang Syne and a Polka. 3) There is a delicious assortment of traditional and modern tunes! The tune choices are great for dancing 4) The playing is terrific with inventive lead tunes. Scottish country dance musicians sometimes “spice up” music with the employment of devices from other dance forms. On this CD that is kept to a minimum with the exception of contra dance style of piano, especially on reels. Chris and Catherine are masters of their instruments and together produce a sound that ranges from restrained to explosive. It might take more than one hearing to get the bow and curtsey for The Inimitable Derek, but it is a nice change and surprise! 5) This is a very piano-strong recording and to this listener, more fiddle in the mix would have been more satisfying. This recording makes me want to teach these dances again! I enjoyed the CD and recommend it! Ron Wallace, San Francisco Branch

The Leeds Golden Collection CD

Neil Barron and his SCD Band

A brief appreciation from a fellow musician. It’s not often I sit down and listen to a disc of dance tunes from end to end. I find it too difficult to suppress the urge to get up and dance. Alone, and amongst the living room furniture, that is just too frustrating. So I was surprised that what I had intended as a toe-dipping session of short snippets from Neil’s latest recording for The Leeds Golden Collection, turned out to be almost an hour of happy listening calling for the exercise of much self-control – just a little involuntary foot tapping and only an occasional travelling step foray around the armchairs. After a cup of tea and a brief rest I played it through again just to make sure my initial assessment was accurate. And it was. This must surely be the best CD Neil and his band have ever produced. As bands go it is one of the biggest, with six accomplished players – sadly, a number rarely to be heard at most club events. The result is a very pleasing, full, homogenous sound. The balance is excellent and the disc has been well engineered by Stuart Hamilton at Castlesound Studios. The piano and drums are pleasantly discreet and the inclusion of Bill Craib’s double bass gives the overall sound an enhanced depth with very little loss of clarity. Alasdair MacLeod on second box shows good judgement on the weight of that off-beat emphasis so essential to the rhythm of the music which gives us all such a buzz, and I particularly enjoyed Marie Fielding’s violin playing. She shows such a strong sense of rhythm and her intonation is faultless, blending with the accordion in a way we do not often hear. Usually there is either too much fiddle or none at all. With all due respect to Neil I feel that he might have let her have her head a little more often. The opportunity of hearing such fiddle playing in Scottish country dance music does not come too frequently. Neil is at his best throughout and never drops a shoe. He leads well and his playing, without being too intrusive, has great clarity and dominates just as it should. In particular I found the music for the strathspey, Candyfloss and the reel Jovial Jack most enjoyable and invigorating. There will rarely, if ever, be agreement on tempi – it’s all far too subjective – so I will leave you free to make up your own minds. For me they are here spot on. But this is a CD to be listened to as well as danced to, and all concerned in its production are to be congratulated. Rodney Mount

The Leeds Golden Collection

The Leeds Golden Collection provides variety and a good mix of three, four and eight times through dances, suitable for all levels of dancers. The dances also provide differing formations which are appropriate for the experienced and the inexperienced. Charles Ogden’s Jig is suitable for dancers learning corners followed by reels of three with their corners. By contrast Golden Arc is an interesting dance but quite challenging and more suitable for advanced dancers. Jacqui Watson’s Strathspey includes a variety of reels and set and rotate for three couples making it interesting and attractive. All the Eights is a good teaching dance and again provides an excellent example of a variety of reels within one dance. A Twinkle in his Eye could be regarded as a good display dance incorporating a four couple set and link. And a dance that will appeal to younger dancers is Nifty Ninety which is fun, demanding and not for the faint-hearted. All dancers will love Scarborough Castle which is a graceful strathspey including a two couple knot and corners pass and turn. A challenge for all is The Cooper Children which could become as popular as its forerunner The Wee Cooper of Fife. Marilyn Watson, Bournemouth Branch