DRIVING WITH FERGUS: The Welcoming Table

Driving with Fergus

The Welcoming Table

© 2002 Lewis Santer and Vince Wolfe

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From slow, rich to high energy Celtic. Flute, bouzouki, whistles, guitar, bodhran, uillean pipes and vocals keep the music solidly in the tradition. Appearances by a variety of other instruments add tasty musical spice.

notes

The first album by Northern California's most in-demand Celtic duo (or trio or quartet, depending)...

Notes on the tracks
1. Lad O'Beirne's/Saddle the Pony: A reel, thought to come from the Co. Sligo fiddler, into a jig, both well known. We like to play them in F. We like the spare duo sound and the fuller multi-tracked sound, and on this one we go for the fuller with guitar, high strung bouzouki, 2 whistles, and bodhran
2. Trip to Pakistan/Cathal McConnell's/Sculley Casey's: Tunes we got from the Tannahill Weavers, Lunasa and Laurence Nugent respectively.
3. The Gallant Frigate Amphitrite: Learned from the great fiddler and singer David Kidron (with whom we made "Shalom Ireland", also available from CDBaby). It's an a capella English sea song but we couldn't resist some instrumentation. Amphitrite was a goddess of the sea, daughter of the Titan Oceanus. We use our full sound here with bouzouki, vocals, bodhran, uillean pipes and whistles.
4. John Brady's (by John Brady)/Tim Maloney's: Vince learned the first reel at a session in Cork City. Kit Slawson taught us the second.
5. Sixth Street: A waltz written by Lewis who plays it on the Commodium, a resophonic mandolin with a bedpan body (http://www.keithcary.com/commodium/).
6. Noisy Curlew/Brenda Stubbert's/Glass of Beer: Reels from the playing of Seamus Egan and Eileen Ivers, the second written by Jerry Holland of Cape Breton, the third from the Boys of the Lough. Thanks to the mighty Lee Martin for the Scottish small pipes on the second and third tunes
7. Welcoming Table/The Wandering Jew: A version of this American song we leaned from a tape of Barry Schultz and Cathy Whitesides playing at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. Lewis wrote the jig on the bouzouki.
8. Out on the Ocean/Crooked Road to Dublin: A jig we like to play slowly, then a reel.
9. Thunderhead (©1981, Grey Larsen): Another one we learned from David Kidron. Jeff Simons on bass, Shawn King on rattles and mouth percussion, Vince using a bodhran tipper on a clipboard and playing the kettle drum.
10. Erin's Waltz: Written by Vince, it has become a wedding standard for us.
11. Gallant Soldier: From Paul Brady and Andy Irvine's amazing album. Also in Gale Huntington & Lani Herrmann's revision of Sam Henry's Songs of the People.
12. Rise A Mile: A slip jig we have from Kevin Burke and Patrick Street.

reviews

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  • author: Holly Sousa

    This music caught my attention immediately once I heard them playing at a festival this weekend. I just love it, I could listen to it all day long. Great Music. I'm looking for a CD to purchase.

  • author: Tireile

    Great to see this cd on sale here ,wonderful sounds ,we met these guys in San Francisco and had a great session of music together. keep it up!

  • superb
    author: Tom Cobb

    This CD has a great feeling to it. The playing is superb. But what really separates it from similar CD's is something that is not so obvious. Most good CD's follow the pattern that they get better the first few times I listen then they level off, then I'm tired of them. Not this CD. Somehow these guys have hit some mysterious musical center of the mark. I've listened to this CD *many* times now and it always seems to have that same lift. It just picks you up. A great CD.

  • Exciting, listenable, superb musicianship, great singing!
    author: Dick Holdstock

    What more could you ask for in an enjoyable CD? Lewis and Vince demonstrate great sensitivity to the Celtic music they love. Their superb musicianship, arrangements, and choice of material, is full of vitality, diversity, and style. This exiting CD is a must for the lover of Celtic tunes and songs.

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