After years of being immersed in traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, and Bluegrass music, we decided to head into inventive territory with this album and stretch the limits of what a pair of instruments (violin and mandolin, or violin and 'cello) could produce.
We found that arranging material with such sparse instrumentation invited us to intertwine our melodic lines, create unusual harmonic tensions, and even get off-the-wall with our improvisations, while still paying homage to the dance tradition of the British Isles.
The source melodies are primarily famous session tunes from Scotland, Ireland, Brittany (France), Galecia (Spain), and Appalachia. We're pleased with the way we were able to render this material with our own personality--influenced by hints of classical refinement and ethnic music from around the world.
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