Search - Karen Ashbrook, Paul Oorts :: Celtic Cafe

Irish,French,Flemish at the cultural crossroads of Europe

MAGGIE'S MUSIC | washington d.c. | 03/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Celtic Cafe, a new recording from Maggie's Music, sends an authentically fresh album of pan-European music into the deluge of Celtic releases this March. It is a lively evocation of a cafe at the crossroads of European culture, with Flemish carillon and Parisian musette music, clog and row dances from Belgium, & airs, jigs & reels from Ireland & Scotland. The intermingling of Celtic and Northern European music has historic roots which are explored in the album. Its centerpiece, the Napoleon Suite, is a 16-minute evocation of the repertoires of mercenary soldiers who fought at Waterloo in Belgium, the crossroads of Europe. The suite binds together such traditional tunes as Will You Go To Flanders,Wellington's Coming and Bonaparte's Retreat introduced by an impressionistic collage of pipes and battle sounds created by producer Bobby Read. Belgian musician Paul Oorts joins American multi-instrumentalist Karen Ashbrook in this tour de force of imagination and scholarship. Ashbrook is considered one of the world's finest hammered dulcimer players. Her specialty is Irish music, and she is also a gifted Irish flute and pennywhistle player. Karen Ashbrook has five releases on the Maggie's Music label: the solo albums Hills of Erin (MM207) and Knock on the Door (MM212); and albums with Ceoltoiri Celtic Ensemble -- Women of Ireland (MM218), Silver Apples of the Moon (MM202) and Celtic Lace (MM203). Oorts is an accomplished, oft-recorded string player (mandolin, cittern, classical and steel string guitars) who also plays the musette accordion. A medievalist and translator, he teaches French at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Oorts's musical education took place in the pubs, cafes and coffee houses of Belgium and France. Karen Ashbrook spent several years as a musical expatriate in Europe and Asia. They say: "This CD celebrates an institution that contributed mightily to the development and the vitality of folk music - the cafe and its Irish cousin, the pub. Our best recollections are of late nights spent in these venues, sessioning with old musicians and listening to the lore of the buskers (street performers). We invite you into our café here music, old and new, Celtic and continental, brought together a Belgian and an American Irish musician who fell in love." also,Bonnie Rideout on Scottish fiddle & viola; Mark Hillmann, uilleann pipes; Bobby Read, woodwinds & soprano sax; Dwight Purvis, French horn; Ralph Gordon, bass; Dave Wiesler, piano; Andrea Hoag, fiddle and Paddy League on percussion."