Album Notes

An INDIE Nominee for best seasonal album of the year,It was listed in BILLBOARD magazine, and is the perfect christmas all-instrumental music gift for the season. Its the companion CD to the popular Sounds of the Season ( MM103) It's also an example of celtic/chamber ensemble cross-over sounds that blend the energy and drive of traditional music with the variations and harmonies and syncopations found in medieval and renaissance ensemble music.An attractive cover design and its over 55 minutes long! Accompanying instruments include Celtic harp, cittern, violin, mandolin, guitar, viola da gamba, recorder, and medieval drum.The arrangements reflect the elegant chamber ensemble style of celtic/early music cross over- the energy of traditional Celtic music with the intricate harmonies and variations and unique medieval and renaissance type sounds and interesting syncopations found also in classical and early music ensemble music.

About the Artist
About the Artist: One of the most exciting and innovative hammered dulcimer players recording today, Maggie Sansone brings a unique vision to the music of the ancient Celts. She performs on the hammered dulcimer, ancestor of the modern day piano. The percussive melodious sounds of her wooden mallets dancing across eighty wire strings creates a harp-like resonant sustain that brings a special beauty to her music. Maggie has been featured on CBS-TV "Sunday Morning," and NPR's "All Things Considered," "Performance Today," and "The Thistle & Shamrock." She is the recent recipient of two prestigious awards - the ANNIE Award for Performing Arts from the Anne Arundel Country Cultural Arts Foundation and the WAMMIE for best Irish/Celtic Instrumentalist from the Washington Area Music Association. Maggie has authored seven music books for the hammered dulcimer with Mel Bay Publications and was included in their 2000 Hammered dulcimer Anthology Series featuring America's finest performers and teachers.She is now teaching privately and offering workshops year round at the Maryland Hall for Creative Arts in Annapolis, MD. Maggie is a popular performer, equally at home at local street fairs and folk festivals to the big concert stages including appearances at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. She is also known for producing an exciting array of Celtic and Christmas shows featuring some of the top stars in the Celtic music scene today. She was the founding member and manager for five years with the national touring show A Scottish Christmas and joined forces with one of the largest music companies in the world-BMG Entertainment to create a live concert DVD and video of the show. Maggie is founder and CEO of Maggie's Music record label based in Shady Side, Maryland, It features over forty recordings distributed worldwide through mail order, wholesale and retail outlets. The label has received seven "Record Label of the Year" WAMMIE awards from the Washington Area Music Association. A major article on the record label appeared in The Washington Post which said " Gaelic traditions are alive and well...Maggie's Music has been a driving force behind the popularity of Celtic 'chamber folk," which combines the intricate harmonies of classical music with the energy and spirit of folk music." Maggie's recordings on the record label Maggie's Music are: 1) SOLO: Celtic Meditations; A Traveler's Dream; Dance Upon the Shore, Mist & Stone, Traditions; Music in the Great Hall 2) CHRISTMAS: Sounds of the Season, Sounds of the Season II, Ancient Noels with Ensemble Galilei, A Scottish Christmas (CD/DVD/video) and 3) CELTIC COLLECTIONS: Celtic Mist and Carolan's Gift.