shirakammen.com
magnatune.com
cdbaby.com
2002
Bright Angel Records
1 - Windstrings [0:42]
2 - Downstream [6:36]
3 - Unconformity [2:53]
4 - The Water Is Wide [6:34]
5 - Bufo [3:16]
6 - Dark Tower [7:23]
7 - Coconino [2:14]
8 - Boathag [3:21]
9 - How have I come to find I've lost your face? [4:21]
10 - Lydiamania [4:48]
11 - Grey Funnel Line [2:42]
12 - Jackass Canyon [5:56]
13 - Frog Drums [2:45]
14 - Wild Mountain Thyme [4:29]
15 - Crotalus [4:48]
16 - Deep Schist [2:40]
17 - Music of Waters [6:39]
18 - Windstrings [0:41]
Shira Kammen • vielle, fiddle, voice
Peter Maund • percussions
Danny Carnahan • guitar, mandola, voice
David Morris • viola da gamba
Cheryl Ann Fulton • harp
Classically trained and internationally recognized as
one of the world's top early music performers, Shira Kammen explores a
different musical persona in her first solo release, Music of Waters.
As a string player and recording artist with groups like Ensemble
Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova and Fortune's Wheel, Shira has travelled
through the medieval universe from 11th century Crete to the dazzling
court of the Spanish King Alphonso X, from ancient monasteries with
mystical abbesses to the shores of the British Isles.
But Music of Waters reflects a journey over a different, more rugged,
terrain.
As a white-water river rafting enthusiast, Shira found inspiration in
the echoing canyons and shimmering waterfalls of the Grand Canyon and
the Colorado River.
Music of Waters, which was recorded in the wild and beautiful side
canyons of the Grand Canyon and in the Desert View Watchtower on the
South Rim, features original modal compositions, as well as traditional
songs and tunes.
The music celebrates the vast and magnificent landscape of the Canyon
and the Colorado River, and is influenced by Celtic and Eastern
European and other folk styles, as well as by the music of the Middle
Ages and the Renaissance.
Shira is joined by Bay Area colleagues Peter Maund (known for his
percussion work with Skyedance, Ensemble Alcatraz, Davka), Danny
Carnahan (Wake the Dead, Caswell & Carnahan, etc), David Morris
(Teatro Bacchino) on Viola da Gamba, and Cheryl Ann Fulton on harp.
Shira views the project as a natural synthesis of her musical and
environmental passions.
And as such, hopes that listeners will find it educational, in that the
compositions convey definite musical (and spiritual) responses to the
various geological, ecological and historical forces that have shaped
one of the great wonders of the natural world.