‘Celtic Chamber Music’ : Birth of a new musical genre

Violinist Samantha Gillogly with Pianist Tim Maurice photo by Kat Hartigan

 
"There can be no tradition without innovation." ~ Earle Hitchner, Irish music journalist ~

On April 15, 2011, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, Massachusetts, a new genre of music was born, in a performance billed as “An Evening of Celtic Chamber Music.’”
The flawless recording was captured live and recently released as a CD and MP3 download, and for my daughter, violinist/violist/composer, Samantha Gillogly, this was a culmination of a dream realized. 

Seeing as today is St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it timely to share this marvelous collaboration, which features the very talented pianist/composer Tim Maurice, and special guest artists  Roselie Samter (viola) and Zoya Shereshkova (cello).

The album includes 20 lyrical reinterpretations of favorite Celtic fiddle tunes from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany along with Samantha’s original composition,” Mr. Lowe’s Waltz.”

Celtic Chamber Music, is being given extensive airplay on PBS as well as specialty radio stations, and numerous Internet sites across the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain, and has recently been picked up by Pandora for future airings.

The entire album and individual tracks are available for sound sampling and purchase through CD Baby and Amazon.com.

Below is a video from the April performance, featuring “Mr. Lowe’s Waltz”.

ENJOY and HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY! 

The 12 Days of Internet music: Day 11

Scottish Poet Robert Burns

 “Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?” ~ Robert Burns ~

The song that has become synonymous with the passing of the old year to the new is “Auld Lang Syne.”

The lyrics that are sung today were transcribed from oral tradition by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Based on a traditional folk tune, the lyrics and melody reach further back and predate the Burns’ version by 200 years.

The phrase “Auld Lang Syne” loosely translates as, “for old time’s sake.”

In a plaintive farewell, the video below needs no words as the song is sung in an instrumental voice by the Grammy-winning American Saxophonist, Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, who is better known as “Kenny G.”

Happy New Year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpvYoY4juLc

Seasoning from the sea

"Some people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative an activity as drawing, or wood carving, or music." ~ Julia Child ~

Recessionary times often bring out the best in entrepreneurial spirit, and such is the case with a culinary product that was an idea just waiting to happen - Acquamara.

Recently launched at the Taste of Edinburgh Festival, Acquamara is bottled seawater sold in three-liter containers and priced at £4.95, which is roughly $7.87 US.

The product is geared not only for professional chefs but for home use.

By now, I know what you are probably thinking: “Why would anyone buy salt water when you can easily make your own?” Excellent question.

Cooking with seawater has been practiced for centuries. Even some contemporary chefs, such as Rick Stein, who is also multiple-location restaurateur and television presenter, has discussed cooking with seawater in the excerpt below from one of his shows.



The main difference between cooking with any old seawater and Acquamara boils down (so to speak) to this: source and refinement. And goodness knows we are all keenly aware of water pollution these days.

Acquamara is sourced from the cleanest area of the Atlantic Ocean, off the tiny island of Berneray, which is part of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.

It is then filtered, removing any remaining particulates including sand, rust or dirt, and is bottled certified safe under EC drinking water standards.

The idea for Acquamara was the brainchild of 49-year old Andy Inglis, a clever entrepreneurial Scotsman who hails from Dunbar, East Lothian.

Inglis had been mulling over the thought for a couple of years but was pushed into action after helping his daughter with a school project that included historical recipes, which required cooking with seawater.

Taking his inspiration to the next development stage, Inglis began doing extensive market research with a prototype, seeking out opinions from some of the top chefs in the United Kingdom.

According to those top chefs, Acquamara was a winner that provides an exceptional taste to a wide variety of recipes. It’s also a nifty way of using less salt in preparation or for flavor enhancement.

Acquamara’s website offers some recipes and a seasoning guide along with endorsements from those top chefs. Hey, if it’s good enough for them…

I just wish I had thought of it first.