Essays, Poems and Advice From the Gourds
Featuring 14 beautiful instrumental arrangements of ancient melodies, traditional tunes, hymns, and contemporary compositions on Celtic harp.
Selections include The Youngest Daughter, Be Thou My Vision, Beauty in Tears, Poor Wayfaring Stranger, All Things Bright and Beautiful, The Boys of Ballisodare featuring George Winston on guitar, and the title track, plus a beautiful rendition of the Judy Collins song Since You've Asked with special guests Barry and Shelley Phillips.
Lending their talents to this lush and muti-textured recording are Jesse Autumn (double harp), Barry Phillips (cello and percussion), George Grasso (Irish flute), Janet Herman (recorder), William Coulter (guitar), Harris Moore (hammered dulcimer), Deby Benton Grosjean (fiddle), Neal Hellman (mountain dulcimer),
Jay Jackson (piano), Don Lax (violin) and a special guest appearance by Martin Simpson (guitar).
As on The Fairie Round and Pavane Shelley Phillips has created music from her own private renaissance for all of us to enjoy over and over again.
Ravi wrote a special piece of music for George Harrison titled, 'Ape' (pronounced Arpa, meaning to give). The piece was performed by Anoushka Shankar on Sitar and Barry Phillips on Cello at the tribute for George November 29, 2002.
When it was discovered that the small orchestra backing the "full band set" needed another cello Barry was right there to take the gig.
There's our man Barry Phillips all the way to the upper right behind the music stand.
For a detailed review of the show click here.
Florentine Films (Ken Burns' company) has selected two tracks from In the Pines by Todd Phillips, Train On the Island and
In the Willow Garden. Mountain Medley was selected from Neal Hellman's Autumn In the Valley recording.
Don’t let that tam on his little green head or those pipes he’s squeezing deceive you. This little green man with the glowing red eyes is not of this planet.
Now please look to the upper right of this rare photo, yes, your correct it’s a flying saucer cleverly disguised as a Celtic mandela!
Now we know who built Stonehenge as well, yes the little green people from a far off planet known to only a chosen few as The Isle of Skye.
There is little doubt in the collective minds of our esteemed panel of experts that this little green fellow is truly The Lilting Banshee!
So the next time you find yourself surrounded by celtic musicians...count their fingers!
After all, where did you think all those leprechaun’s and fairies came from?
There is detailed playing instruction for each composition.
Also included is the history of each piece as well as recorded sources and web links for each tune.
The compact disc contains a one verse rendition of both the vocal part and the piece played as an instrumental.
Available Now!!
Volume II, Number 1 includes the new album by Barry Phillips Cello.
Volume I, Number 6 includes reviews of Music on the Mountain and other news of the Gourds.
Vol. I, No. 5 includes reviews of In the Pines and other news of the Gourds.
Vol. I, No. 4 includes excerpts from Danny Carnahan's first musical mystery novel, Death Dances in Jig Time and Tales of the Highway, the first in an occasional series of exciting adventures of Gourds on the road.
Vol. I, No. 3 - has reviews of Pavaneand Celtic Crossing from Dirty Linen Magazine and a review of the Simple Gifts songbook from The Shaker Messenger.
Vol. I, No. 2 - includes Danny Carhahan's amazing tales of Madagascar and Neal Hellman's review of Martin Simpson live at the Fillmore.
Vol. I, No. 1 - includes Neal Hellman's elegiac baseball poem Autumnal Lament.
neal@gourd.com