Thanks to in-depth research into original manuscripts, Jordi Savall reveals the hidden beauties of Irish and Scottish music from 17th to 19th Century. The transcription from fiddle to baroque viol sounds so obvious that everyone realizes the closeness of traditional and ancient repertoires at once. Some of the pieces are irresistibly vivid and virtuosic, some are more melancholic-but all of them deserve the renasissance Jordi Savall offers them in this collection, where he partners with harp virtuoso Andrew Lawrence-King.
A master of the kora (21-string West African harp), Toumani Diabaté has brought the traditional music of his native Mali to the attention of an international audience with a series of well-received solo albums and some unlikely, but acclaimed, collaborations. Although he came from a family of musicians, Diabaté (born August 10, 1965) taught himself to play the kora at an early age, as his father, who also played the instrument, was often away touring. He developed a style of playing that, while being strongly rooted in the Malian tradition, is also open to a wide range of other influences, such as jazz and flamenco. He has subsequently sought out other musicians from around the world who are willing to experiment with him, even performing a concert in Amsterdam with a classical harpist.
Press play and enter the world of Loreena McKennitt, where walls dissolve into thick, billowing mists as the ground beneath your feet turns to compacted earth and the sky above opens up to reveal a black cloak dotted with shimmering stars draped beneath silk-like clouds. Were McKennitt's composing and songwriting abilities lacking of any luster (as they most certainly are not), her voice would still possess the strength to hold her fifth album, The Mask and Mirror, up on its own. But the combination of this talented woman's vocal prowess and songwriting ability makes her all the more similar to her work – ethereal and almost unbelievable in its level of quality.
The Nashville String Band is the 1969 debut album by The Nashville String Band. The band consisted of Chet Atkins and Homer and Jethro. Atkins produced many of Homer and Jethro's later RCA albums and they in turn performed on a number of his.