Album Notes

"String Fling" offers a unique mix of traditional, folk, and Celtic music featuring two hammered dulcimers, guitar, and other instruments from around the world. The instrumentation blends and captures the listener taking them to far off lands or just out your back porch to a happy, relaxed time.

Meryl Korn, from the Portland Folk Music Society reviewed String Fling for their March/April, 2006 issue of the Local Lore.

"Beltaine: String Fling (self-produced). This is the second recording of Portland's Beltaine, a rising Celtic-flavored band featuring Brian Baker's guitar and mandolin and the twin hammered dulcimers of Kris Chase and John Keys (who between them also play mountain dulcimer, bass box, and flute). They're joined by guest musicians on several cuts.

String Fling Mixes Irish, Scots, French, Scandinavian, British, and American tunes in fresh settings. I nodded along and smiled as I listened to familiar airs and waltzes, tapped my feet to jigs, and was quite taken by the bouncy and new-to-me "Old Dog Sparky" and "Florida Blues." Some of the settings were slower than I'm accustomed to hearing them, and one is faster, but the picking is clean throughout. I particularly enjoyed their swingy "Cluck Old Hen"; and "The Butterfly" took me back to my first hearing of that beautiful slip-jig played in a concert years ago by Kevin Burke.

Beltaine also did their homework on the music. Of particular interest were the succinct historical notes to each tune in the album notes. Well Done!"

Beltaine has been performing around the Northwest for over three years. Musical venues include; Portland Wine and Arts Festival, the Pittock Mansion, Northwest Folklife, Tryon Creek State Park Concert Series, and various farmers markets and music festivals around the region. For more information, please call 503-788-5648 or visit www.beltainemusic.com.