A Timeless Journey / Cantiga
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Cantiga Productions
2017
[69:00]
1. La Romanesca [4:46]
2. Cantiga 353 [4:50]
CSM 353
3. Cantiga 166 (Como Poden) [4:30]
CSM 166
4. Arran Boat Song [4:12]
5. The Horse's Brawl [3:10]
6. Childgrove [4:55]
7. Spooky [3:50]
8. Reels [3:59]
9. Andaluz [5:44]
10. Skillywidden [5:37]
11. Amoroso [3:52]
12. Cantiga 281 [4:52]
CSM 281
13. Torch Brawl [3:58]
14. Campbell's Farewell [2:49]
15. Russian Sher [4:46]
16. Kilcash [3:55]
© 2017 Cantiga Productions
Album Notes
The word CANTIGA means 'song' in the language of Alfonso the Wise, the
13th century Spanish "King of the Three Religions" whose royal court
was a haven for Christian, Muslim, and Jewish musicians. Following in
their tradition, the members of Cantiga have been dedicated to the
inclusive spirit of musical improvisation which has flourished among
musicians in cultural crossroads throughout history.
Harpist Martha Gay, fiddler Malcolm Smith and flute and recorder
specialist Bob Bielefeld joined forces at the 1979 Texas Renaissance
Festival to form Cantiga. Living and performing year round in the
Renfaire circuit they became an extremely versatile celtic and
renaissance band.
Houston-based cellist Max Dyer has played with Cantiga since 1991 and
has been instrumental in the production of all the Cantiga recordings.
Following Malcolm’s untimely death in 1996, Cantiga has been
joined by a succession of fine musicians, each bringing their own
special qualities to the band: fiddlers Thomas Nuendel, Mark Caudill,
Michelle Levy and Ian Stewart, as well as Chilean multi-instrumentalist
Charry Garcia, Alex Korolov (viola da gamba and lute) and New Orleans
fiddler Dr Sick.
In 1993, Cantiga teamed up with troubadour Owain Phyfe to form the "New
World Renaissance Band", performing and recording early music for
modern ears. "Live the Legend", "Where Beauty Moves" and
"Odyssey” met with critical success and widespread airplay. They
continued to perform frequently with Owain until his passing in 2012.
In the summer of 2010, Cantiga harpist Martha Gay, embarked on a
500-mile trek through France and Spain on the Camino de
Santiago—an ancient pilgrimage trail leading to Santiago de
Compostela, the resting place of St. James’ bones as well as the
origin of the “Cantigas de Santa Maria”. On foot, Martha
towed her harp over the high mountain passes playing the medieval
cantiga tunes in ancient churches and villages along the way.
Encountering fellow pilgrims from many lands, she followed in the
footsteps of those much earlier musicians who also shared the
refreshing music of the cantigas in the timeless journey of the Camino.
Notes from Cantiga cellist Max Dyer:
I met Malcolm Smith in the summer of 1991 in Houston. He came to hear
me perform at a seedy icehouse bar near downtown where I was playing my
cello, backing up a hard-rocking cowboy who had recently been mentioned
in Time magazine. Malcolm met me after the show and gave me a cassette
recording of his Renaissance festival band "Cantiga".
As I slipped the cassette into my car player on the way home, I was met
by an arresting mix of haunting medieval music and sparkling Celtic
tunes. Especially impressive on this recording was the rich, gutty
sound of a fine cello. It turned out that Peter Gorisch, Cantiga's
cellist, was headed for Nashville, and Malcolm was trying to recruit me
as a replacement.
Malcolm told me that Peter had inherited this great old cello from his
father and now he wanted to sell it. Knowing that instruments like this
don't come along every day, I managed to scrape together just enough to
buy it. Later I learned that Peter's father, who had been a
professional cellist, had played it in Hollywood back in the 1930's on
the soundtrack for "Gone with the Wind"! I've played this fine old
French cello ever since.
So, following Malcolm's invitation, I showed up that October for the
first time at the Texas Renaissance Festival, costumed in medieval garb
that my wife Corky had made for me. After the stress of three intense
years performing with the Houston Symphony, it was refreshing to find
myself playing outdoors with this improvising folk band. We'd jam on
stark ancient melodies and lively Irish jigs. I can still remember
gorgeous fall weather with golden leaves swirling around us. Sometimes,
I would see little children dancing spontaneously as we played.
I quickly became good friends with Cantiga's harpist, Martha Gay. A
brilliant woman who had gone to college at Oxford to study archeology,
With her encyclopedic knowledge of plants, she had worked as the
information lady at the renowned Tea's Nursery in Houston. Malcolm and
Bob were equally outdoorsy people.. All three were excellent musicians
who had found their home in the mobile counterculture of the renfaire
circuit. I was drawn to their unaffected love for music and their easy
connection with nature.
Between sets, Bob and Malcolm taught me new tunes. We jammed a lot in
the outdoor nook where we gathered, always developing new material. We
might try to puzzle out an arrangement for an exciting medieval tune
Bob had just unearthed, or perhaps we’d discuss the pileated
woodpecker Malcolm had seen that morning, or Martha’s
observations about the changing weather overhead.
Onstage, we played mostly for ourselves, absorbed in the joy of
spontaneous music making and only peripherally aware of the
ever-changing renfaire crowds. Folks were drawn in by the haunting
strains of our music. Many stayed to listen for a while and undoubtedly
went on their way feeling refreshed.
In the spring of 1995, with the generous backing of our good friend
Owain Phyfe we began recording our first CD "Once Upon a Time". We
decided to record everything we had- over forty tunes- and then choose
the best for the album. Bob, Malcolm and I listened painstakingly to
every version of every take, drew little charts with stars to mark the
best spots, and eventually settled on our final selections.
Over the course of the next few weeks, sound engineer Karl Caillouet
and I mixed one song a day. The most difficult, Cantiga 353, took me
weeks of careful consideration. There were several glorious moments but
not one completely good take. Eventually Karl and I took the plunge and
sliced the big two inch multitrack tape at several places to join the
best of three takes. In choosing the best tracks for our new CD we also
lifted the bellydance tune "La Romanesca" from our earlier cassette
recording and remixed it with some added percussion from our drummer
friend Ray Dillard.
I wanted "Once Upon a Time" to be an album that you'd enjoy listening
to as a single performance. Rechristening the tune titles in an attempt
to create a sense of narrative, "La Romanesca" found a new incarnation
with the evocative title "Moonlit Revels of the Gypsy Queene". Likewise
Cantiga 353 became "The Amulet" and Cantiga 166 was renamed "The King's
Quest". These three tunes have been included on this album with their
original titles restored.
As I look back over the past 30 years, I realize that the music from
this band has become the soundtrack for the better part of my life. My
three boys have grown up listening to Cantiga and I remember them now
as toddlers, sitting in rapt attention as Cantiga's music worked its
magical charms.
I think of the succession of good friends who have played with the band
over the years. Malcolm Smith and Owain Phyfe are sadly both gone now.
Still with us, but having gone on with their own their journeys are
Thomas, Mark, Michelle, Ray, Ian, Charry, Alex and numerous other fine
musicians like New Orleans fiddler Dr. Sick and Dallas drummer Jamal
Mohamed with whom we still occasionally share the stage. I consider
myself lucky to be in the midst of this company of pilgrims, meeting in
joy and sometimes separating in sorrow.
"A Timeless Journey" is a tribute to a band I love and a celebration of friends I carry in my heart.
Max Dyer
Houston Texas
September 2017
Bob Bielefeld — wooden flute, fife, recorders, pennywhistles and percussion
Martha Gay — Celtic harp
Malcolm Smith, Thomas Nuendal, Mark Caudill, Michelle Levy, Ian Stewart and Dr. Sick — fiddle
Charry Garcia — charango, guitar, birimbao, percussion
Max Dyer — cello and bass guitar
Alex Korolov and Sasha Raykov — viola da gamba and lute
Ray Dillard, Jamal Mohamed, Nestor Prieto and Jake Cooper — drums and percussion
