Don Wessels Scottish And Irish Chromatic Harmonica |
Notes |
Information and Booking: Dale Robin Artists Representative 207.985.4591
dalerobin@dalerobin.com www.dalerobin.com |
On Orkney |
In the summer of 2003, there was magic On Orkney. |
Atholl Highlanders Bob McQuillan's/Poor But Happy at 53 Margaret Davidson's Waltz Flowers of Edinburgh/The Teetotaller Jackson's Frieze Coat Muileann Dubb/The Haggis/The HIgh Drive The Corn holm O'Farrell's Welcome to Limerick Jenny's Wedding/Ramnee Ceilidh Joining of the Spirits |
Don Wessels - Chromatic Harmonica Gavin Firth - Guitar Bob Gibbon - Accordion Fionn McArthur - Fiddle |
Don Wessels,joining a trio of musicians on the Scottish island of Orkney, gently
but firmly finds his instrument's place in the Tradition with this emotive set
of tunes from Scotland and Ireland. Driven by Gavin Firth's muscular,nuanced guitar,
the fiddle and reeds dance guardedly, then wildly, as they fuse spirits. On the first track you can hear them exploring, listening to each other and responding as they swoop through the tune. On the repeat, the musicians begin to play off one another, and the uncertainties of the first verse become creative collaborations. Don has created a style in contrast to the full-breathed, open-mouth style of the acknowledged master of Irish chromatic harmonica, Eddie Clarke. This style is further enhanced by the adoption of the ornament vocabulary of the other standard trad instruments, particularly the uilleann pipes. Just as the button accordion increased the number of articulations available to the melodeon player, Don's approach frees the harmonica from the tyranny of its tonic-dominant-tonic restrictions. Thus the palette of ornaments is expanded, borrowing from and interpreting the Tradition with both respect and precision. |
