£12.00
inc. free P&P to UK
Hawthorn’s Sweeter Shade
Stewart Hardy
A solo CD stripped back to the bare essentials: the majority of the tracks are solo, unaccompanied fiddle and of the rest, seven are fiddle duets and three tunes are arranged for string ensemble. All instruments are played by Stewart.
A digital version of this album is included in the purchase price.
Download includes zip folders for both mp3 and m4a formats.
Description
Hawthorn’s Sweeter Shade
Stewart Hardy
Tracklist:
- Wild Hills of Wannies
- Italian Maggot
- Bottle Bank
- Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of His Second Wife
- Emma’s Reel
- If You Jack
- Young Blenheim
- King Jacob Shuter
- Roslin Castle
- Yule Sea
- Hawthorn’s Sweeter Shade
- Bess King’s Hornpipe
- Lament for the Death of the Rev. Archie Beaton
- Cheviot Rants
- Factory Smoke
- Farewell to Bradford
- Free Trade
- The Purlongs
- The Flower of Yarrow
“Beautifully and stylishly played, good technique serves the music, never being used for mere flash.”
Tom Bell-Richards, Fiddle On.
“Hardy’s fiddling is technically nigh perfect, and his solo performance is enough to hold the attention for over an hour on this CD”
Alex Monaghan, Living Tradition.
Released December 1, 2012
Recorded and Mastered by Anthony Robb
Produced by Anthony Robb and Stewart Hardy
© 2012 Hooky Mat Records HMR016
A digital version of this album is included in the purchase price.
Download includes zip folders for both mp3 and m4a formats.
Additional information
| Weight | 0.01 kg |
|---|
Fine folk fiddler and teacher, Tyneside’s Stewart Hardy has been involved in several recording projects, with musical partners and students. Here he is on his own for the first time, either strictly solo or playing with himself on twin fiddles, viola and the like. The material here is broadly traditional, ranging from 17th century dance music to modern compositions in the traditional styles of Scotland and England. Two of Stewart’s own compositions are featured, Farewell To Bradford and the title track, both charming slower numbers. They sit comfortably alongside classics and curios by Hill, Gow, John Mason, Frankie Cleeve and Willy Miller, as well as the same number again of traditional melodies by unknown composers. The Tyneside influence is strong, with Hill’s Bottle Bank and Factory Smoke joined by his rarely heard strathspey Free Trade, plus a couple of modern rants and several slower Northumbrian tunes. Hardy’s fiddling is technically nigh perfect, and his solo performance is enough to hold the attention for over an hour on this CD.
Some of this music was new to me, and a few of the tunes have instantly won a place in my musical affections. Emma’s Reel, part of Kathryn Tickell’s extensive repertoire, and Cleeve’s wonderfully rhythmic Yule Sea, are two of my new best friends. Others are equally delightful, but too close to tunes I already know well: The Flower Of Yarrow, a haunting air stunningly played by Stewart, has much in common with the well-known Sir John Fenwick, and Mason’s Lament For The Death Of The Rev Archie Beaton bears more than a passing resemblance to The Mountains Of Pomeroy. You’re bound to find something on this CD which takes your fancy: more details can be obtained at http://www.stewarthardy.co.uk which also offers Stewart Hardy’s previous recordings and books.
Alex Monaghan, Review from http://www.livingtradition.co.uk/