Album Notes

"Heartstrings" is the culmination of fifteen years of mutual music making. Max and I have played together in the Renaissance Festival group since he joined the band in 1990. Through the years we have have also performed as a duo - just harp and cello - and have always wanted to capture the spontaneous and special magic that happens whenever we collaborate.
So here we have recorded some of our favorite tunes as if in concert...playing for you. You can hear us thinking, exploring and just having a grand old time!

Enjoy!

Martha Gay

MARTHA GAY is a founding member of Cantiga, America's premier Renaissance Festival band. She attended Rice University and Oxford University where she majored in archaeology and has made her life in the Renaissance Festival circuit since the 70's. She studied harp with Mildred Milligan and with Derek Bell of the Chieftains.

MAX DYER plays cello in every context from opera and chamber music to folk, jazz, and world music. He looks forward to playing with Cantiga each year at the Texas Renaissance Festival, as well as at various concerts. He works behind the scenes producing Cantiga's recordings and maintaining the webpage. As a classical cellist, he performed for three years with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and has played with Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet Orchestra since 1984. During the summer of 2004, he was solo cellist with the Broadway musical "The Lion King" and has recently been selected to join the performer’s roster for Cirque du Soleil. As a studio musician, he has recorded for many major labels as an orchestral player and as an improvising cello soloist on Grammy nominated albums.