Search - Lydia McCauley :: The Moon of Wintertime

Resonant, artful arrangements of seldom-heard Christmas caro

Brianna Neal | USA | 10/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A lovely collection of traditional carols and dances from Western Europe--some haunting, some jaunty, and all richly orchestrated for voice, keyboard, dulcimer, viola, recorder, guitar, mandolin, double bass and world percussion. This album has the same depth, quality and wholesome honesty of McCauley's other work, and while it starts off on the gentle side, it picks up in intensity as it goes along. Although all the tracks are great, my favorites are towards the end, including the rowdy "Bring Us In Good Ale," the inventive, Mid-East-tinged "Star of the East," and Frank Jackson's folksy arrangement of the 14th century Italian dance "Trotto," which is full of fiery fiddle, thrumming guitar and hints of progressive folk. Throughout their recording career, McCauley and husband/co-producer Kurt Scherer have maintained a core group of truly talented musicians, whose camaraderie and sensitivity to each other's improvisations continues to shine through in each new endeavor. Phil Heaven (bowed strings) and Frank Jackson (recorders and whistles) have been with them since their 1998 debut album, "Sabbath Day's Journey," while guitarist Brian Cunningham and percussionist Jason Darling have been around for at least the past one or two. Joining the team on this album is Lynne Givler on double bass, adding a nice depth and grounding to the sound. Everybody seems to have a Christmas album these days, and "The Moon of Wintertime" is a great one, with a distinctive mood and flavor all it's own. Compare and contrast it with some other stylish favorites of mine, also highly recommended: "A Winter Garden" and "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" by Loreena McKennitt, "Celtic Christmas I & II" and "Joy! Joy! Joy!" by Kim Robertson, "Celtic Christmas III: A Windham Hill Sampler," One Wintry Night" by Jerry Read Smith and Lisa Maria Smith, "Sanctus" by the Angels of Venice, "Christmas" by Tino Izzo, "Poets and Angels" by Ottmar Liebert, "Wolcum Yule" by Anonymous 4, "An Angel's Noel" by the Ware-Patterson Duo, and "Christmas Morning" and "Silent Night" by Lisa Lynne.

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Good find...great music

Werner Lund | Napa , CA | 11/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With all that's being put out these days,it's refreshing when you try something new an find a real gem. Here's a Christmas/ seaonal album that one can listen to throughout the year..."