Winter music: the album Fine Winter's Night from Matt and Shannon Heaton

It is a season of giving, these days as one year turns to another.

Music is always a good gift. Whether enjoyed together or alone, music evokes connection, community, and reflection.

Fine Winter’s Night is a song Shannon Heaton wrote to honor both cold of winter weather outside and warmth which may be found behind lighted windows.

Shannon and her husband and musical partner Matt Heaton decided to call their seasonal album after the song. Fine Winter's Night makes a good choice as the songs and tunes they include within take note of those differing aspects of winter.

There are carols, among them the Wexford Carol from long ago in Ireland and O Little Town of Bethlehem from nineteenth century New England.

There are songs and tunes from varied sources and places with influence and origin from Shetland in Scotland’s Northern Isles to African American spiritual.

These varied sources are brought together by Matt and Shannon’s deep knowledge and love for Celtic music, their knowledge of and love for their instruments (Shannon, flute; Matt, guitar) and their grace in playing and singing together as well.

The original songs and tunes add grace notes to Fine Winter’s Night as well.

Among these are a song in which Shannon takes notice of a perhaps often overlooked part of the Christmas story. There’s another in which Matt, looking at a house he often passed not far from his neighborhood, began imagining a story which might have taken place there back in time.

Fine Winter’s Night offers music for listening, reflecting, and sharing through the winter season and in to the new year.

If you enjoy winter music from Ireland and Scotland, you may also want to know about

Three Christmas albums from Cherish the Ladies
Upon a Winter’s Night from Cara Dillon
Two songs from Emily Smith’s Songs for Christmas

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O Come Emmanuel from Hanneke Cassel

O Come O Come Emmanuel is music for the season of Advent that goes back in time. Far back, that is: it is a latin hymn thought to have first been sung in the ninth century.

Star of Wonder is a tune recetly composed by New England based musician Hanneke Cassel.

Cassel pairs the two in a thoughtful and intriguing way to open ehr album on which you will find them recorded. She chose the title from that pairing, as well: the album is called. O come Emmanuel.

With this opener, Cassel sets the tone and begins the journey on which she takes her listeners through the music on the album.

She offers creative re-imagining of winter season classics alongside thoughtful original music in a journey that becomes both timely and timeless.

Hanneke Cassel’s instrument is the fiddle (she’s ace on piano too).

Among other things, she is the former US Scottish National Fiddle Champion.

She began studying music with Texas style Western swing. When her teacher challenged her to learn the music of Scotland, she did, but was a bit impatient with it.

When she won a chance to study on the Isle of Skye, though that changed. She set her course toward what would be a musical practice rooted and grounded in the music of Scotland and of its Canadian Celtic cousin, Cape Breton.

All that said, Cassel brings her own background and interests into her exploration and creation of Celtic music.

She grew up in Oregon and came east to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, receiving a degree in violin performance, and these days. sometimes returning as a guest instructor. Though she’s brought her music across the US and across the world to places including China and Kenya, she remains based in New England.

On O come Emmanuel Hanneke does not sing herself. She does, however, invite in musical friends from differing points of the compass to add their voices to several of the tracks, and partners with them beautifully with her playing.

Musical friends joining in on instruments are Christopher Lewis, Keith Murphy, Yann Falquet, Mike Block, Jeremy Kittel, Jenna Moynihan, Casey Driessen, and Tim Downing. The really are musical friends, too: each of them have worked with Cassel in duo, trios, and other ensembles.

The music on O Come Emmanuel is a creative mix of song and tune, well known pieces and original music, all in the spirit of winter, Christmas, family , and friendship.

Tracks include See Amid the Winter Snow, O come All Ye Faithful, Dancing Among the Cloud, Eilidh’s Christmas Morning, and Silent Night withe verses sung in four languages with Hanneke’s fiddle taking a verse as well as backing the singers.

In her sleeve notes, Hanneke writes among her thanks a note to thank he mom and dad “for filling the house with Christmas music every year-- from Handel to Amy Grant to Mannheim Steamroller to Raffi to Emmylou Harros --one of my favorite parts of the season is getting outthat stack of CDs.”

Once you’ve listened to O Come Emmanuel from Hanneke Cassel. you’ll be adding this recording to your stack of well loved seasonal classics, as well.

You may also wish to see
Hanneke Cassel’s web site
I’ve introduced you to several of Hanneke’s earlier recordings. Here are stories of several:
Dot the Dragon's Eyes (and several albums from others to explore
Trip to Walden Pond

an earlier story about Hanneke's career, at Perceptive Travel
For Reasons Unseen

For a time Hanneke toured backing up Irish American singer Cathie Ryan. You can hear Hanneke’s work especially well on Ryan’s album The Farthest Wave.

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Advent Reflection: 2 Songs

Advent. It’s the season of four weeks leading up to the celebration of Christmas.

If Christmas and/or Advent are not part of your faith calendar, this time in December is a good season in which to make time for reflection and for a bit of rest, perhaps, however busy your schedule might be.

Advent is a time for looking forward and for looking back.

It has been and continues to be a hard and uncertain time for many of us. All the more reason to look for the quiwt Advent may bring.

Music is good gateway and a good companion for this.

Sally Barris has a song called Magnify.

It was, she says, written during a time she was facing a number of challenges in her life.

In the song, she sings of making choices, of choosing, for instance, to focus on -- to magnify -- the hand held out to help rather than the hard stuff that led to needing that helping hand.

Sally, who is originally from Minnesota, has been based in Nashville for some time. Many artists turn to her cataloue of songs when they are looking for thoughtful, well crafted, and creative songs to cover.

At this writing, I am not aware that Sally has put Magnify out as a recording; it’s a relatively new song.

She has a number of her own albums out though well She is also well respected as a mentor, teacher, and member of Nashville’s music community.

Another good listen for your reflection this season is called Another Reason.

Aoife Scott sings lead; she and her partner, Andy Meaney. write the song several eyars back to celebrate the birth of Aoife’s first niece.

Good advice, good material for reflection in this gentle song. Aoife and Andy come from Ireland. You will find the song recorded on Aoife Scot’s album called Homebird.

You may also wish to see

Sally Barris website

Aoife Scott website

More about Aoife’s album Homebird

Over the years I’ve written quite a bit about music to listne to during Advent, Here’s a look back at one of those Advent listening ideas.

At this season of giving, a gentle reminder, too that Music Road is reader supported. You can help!

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Music for your election thinking

Music offers ways to connect across place, across time, across language, across other divides.

There is more that connects us than divides us is one of the points US Vice President Kamala Harris often makes, as she campaigns to become president ot he United States.

Many of you who join in here at Music Road arebased outwith the United Staes. Perhaps you do not care about elections in the US. Perhaps you are of the opinion that they do not matter to you.

I’d ask you to rethink that.

Perhaps you are a US voter who is still thinking about who you wish to vote for, or if you will vote at all. You might, perhaps, think that is election does not matter to you, either.

Perhaps, wherever you live, maybe you think it will make no difference ot your life, whoever wins.

It will.

As you consider your decisions on these things, here are severla pieces of music to help you with your consideration.

If you are thinking your ideas, your conversations, your beliefs, and wat you do about them have no consequence, consider this from Carrie Newcomer

If you are feeling a bit isolated, consider this from Tish Hinojosa

If you are thinking about what to weigh, what to value as you make your choices -- in voting if you are a US voter, in conversation and thought if you are watching events for elsewhere -- consider this from Claire Lynch. This may not be your faith, your book, or your story. Every faith and system of ethics has things to say about situations like the one Claire speaks of in the song, though.

If you’ve children you’d like to involve or who are already involved in thinking about there events. this song from Matt Heaton will offer a few good ideas. Works for adults too.

I have also included a several non music resoureces to add to your considerations.

Well, okay, a musician speaks here -- listen to what Jennifer Lopez has to say about why she is voting for Kamala Harris, and about the power of community

and...take time to hear, to listen, to what Vice Preident Kamla Harris has to say

If you are a US voter, there is still time to vote. I encourage you to do so.

I have cast my vote for Kamala Harris. I ask you to join me. Consider well your choices on the rest of your ballot, too. Democracy really is on the ballot.

You may also wish to see
Music for Autumn’s Changes, at Wandering Educators
A useful discussion of both US presidential campaigns as of late in October, from historian Heather Cox Richardson in her Letters from an American newsletter
Four songs for the (political) season at my Substack newsletter Along the Music Road -- all different from those you find above
About the album Spell Songs II: Let the Light In

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Celtic Colours online and in person

Celtic Colours International Festival is on 11 through 19 October, with concerts and community events all across Cape Breton.

Cape Breton is in the northern part of the province of Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada.

That’s great, you might be thinking, but I am not near there at all...

However --> several festival concerts will be streamed on line. There is no cost to watch, but as the festival is a non-profit, you may want to consider making a donation to keep things going.

No worries if you cannot join at the time of broadcast, you should still have time to watch. In the past concerts have been left up through the next day at the festival's website and YouTube channel.

...and you will want to watch. Celtic Colours celebrates and draws on music mad on Cape Breton and from Scotland, Ireland, First Nations, Acadian, New England, and other aspects of Cape Breton heritage.

Artists from those places come to share their music, as do musicians from all across the Maritimes and from many other places in Canada as well.

Celtic Colours is known for its innovative collaborations as well as its respect for heritage.

Each concert is an ambassador concert of sorts: there are several acts on each bill. They each present a set on their own, and all join up to share in a finale. Sometimes, artists can’t resist sitting in with each other on the way to that finale, as well.

All this makes for concerts filled with heritage as well as filled with surprises.

There’s another surprise: there’s not an announced schedule of which concerts will be aired; what will be on is usually announced shorty before showtime each evening.

A word of respect must be said to festival artistic director Dawn Beaton, who puts all these collaborations together, and to the folks at Novastream, the Cape Breton based company whose people handle the broadcast of the shows. It’s no easy thing to shoot and direct live music, as I well know from experience; these folk know their stuff

Okay, but who might you see?

No guarantees, because, as mentioned, shows to be broadcast are not announced in advance.

However, a bit about just a few of the artists set to perform at Celtic Colours this year:

JP Cormier is a singer, songwriter and player of many instruments. The Cape Breton native will be at the opening concert and several other shows during the festival, including one which will feature JP and musical friends playing through music from his album Another Morning.

Mary Jan Lamond, also from Cape Breton, is a world renown Gaelic singer. Her friend fiddle player and step dancer Wendy MacIsaac joins her on stage at times; their duo album Seinn is well loved classic of Cape Breton music. This year, Wendy will be appearing on her own and as a memebr of the top rated band Beolach.

The three musicians who make up The Once bring top class singing to music which shows influences of Ireland, Scotland, Americana, and bluegrass over from their home base in Newfoundland.

Speaking of Americana, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason return to Celtic Colours with the decades of musical stories to share through song and tune; also from the US, Molly Shawn Scanlan and Connor Hearn as the duo Rakish walk the line between folk and classical as they make their Celtic Colours debut on fiddle and guitar.

You may find Dawn Beaton playing the fiddle, as well as playing keyboards and dancing. Often she on her siter Margie perform as a duo. Their heritage and practice in music inform their off stage creative practices as well, Dawn as artists director of Celtic Colours and Margie is in charge of school and college reatiosn and marketing at The Gaelic College.

Rose Morrison grew up and began her music career on Cape Breton. After some eyears living away, she’s returned, expanding her renown as a fiddle player to include songwriting and singing.

First Nations artists are always part of Celctic Colours, from drum circle members to dancers to fiddle players to songwriters this year Alex Kusturok of the Metis tradtion and Morgan Toney, who connects his Mi'kmaq heritage with Cape Breton style are among those from First Nations taking part.

Ireland is always well represented at Celtic Colours. John Doyle, Mick McCauley, and Oisin McAuley form u a trio to bring song and story from Dublin, Donegal, and Kilkenny to Cape Breton.

Cape Breton has strong connections to Scotland; it is one of the few places outside the Highlands and Island of Scotland where you will fidn Gaelic in daily use. It is natural then, that artists from Scotland always form a highy anticiapted and enjoyed aspect f Celtic Colours.

Among those joining in this year: top guitarist (she handles other instruments and is a singer, composer, and producer as well) Anna Massie; lengendary songwriter Archie Fisher; rising fiddle masyer Ryan Young; awatfd winning Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis ever creative five piece band Breabach, with special guest Moynihan joining in.

There;s msuch more to be explored, and there will no doubt be surprise in store as well as familiar friends to meet again in the broadcast concerts, or,if you have the opportunity, in person.

You may also wish to see
Brush you your knowledge of Cape Breton music
Venues on Cape Breton where you can find traditional music

Photographs: Julie Fowlis and Mary Jane Lamond courtesy of Celtic Colours; John Doyle by Kerry Dexter; Anna Massie courtesy of Innes Campbell Communications

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Scotland's music: Caoir from Joy Dunlop

If you’ve spent time in Scotland, you will likely hav seen Joy Dunlop presenting weather on BBC Scotland and on BBC Alba.

Perhaps you are learning Gaelic? Then you may have come across Joy’s work as a presenter of the the broadcast and online series Speak Gaelic. Perhaps you’ve heard her present award shows and other programs in Gaelic and in English, or leraned of her work developing Seachdain na Gàidhlig/ World Gaelic Week, a time celebrating Scottish Gaelic language and culture.

Maybe you’ve heard that she created and conducted the Alba Choir, Scotland’s entry in the Eurovision Choir competition.

At the heart of all this, Joy is a musician, an award winning singer and stepdancer.

She grew up in the traditional music community of Connel in Argyll in the west of Scotland, studied on the isle of Skye, and has traveled the world with her music.

With all that she’s got going on, she takes her time in releasing albums.

Her most recent recording is called Caoir. You will find it well worth the wait.

Caoir is pronounced koor. In Scottish Gaelic the word means a blaze of fire, fiercely burning, flames or flashes.

That idea comes through in the warming, welcoming sound of Joy’s vibrant soprano, and in the music she has chosen to record.

It also follows through in the connection and creativity shared by the musicians who join Joy on the recording: who are Ron Jappy on guitar, Ifedade Thomas on drums, Gus Stirrat on bass, Mhari Marwick in fiddle, and Euan Malloch on electric guitar.

It is a connection that evolved into an album.

It began, Joy said, “as a jam session with four fantastic musicians, and soon grew into something more -- a selection of music that we all loved and a real friendship and bond between us all. I think that sense of joy comes across in the music.”

It does indeed.

Dunlop’s sense of adventure and creativity, as well as her musicianship anchor the music she and her collaborators create.

Caoir begins with a lively set of jigs to draw listeners in with both music and rhythm.

Rhythm and beat are present through the music on Caoir. This is the first time Joy has brought drums and bass into her music. In the hands of these musicians, these additions work well within the ten tracks of traditional music.

You will hear this in subtle fashion as Joy explores the gentler side of her voice and music as she sings Am Braigh/The Braes. This is a song Malcolm Gillis wrote in praise of his home area of Margaree in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Joy spent some time living and working in Mabou in Cape Breton. She writes in her notes on the song “Cape Breton is a place dear to my heart... I can confirm that it’s just as beautiful as the song describes.”

Cape Breton is also one of the few places outside the Highlands and Islands of Scotland where you will find Scottish Gaelic in daily use.

You will also hear that beat and rhythm in several of the faster paced songs on Caoir. Among those is Mo Nighean Donn Ho Gu/ My Brown Haired Girl.

Waukling songs for working the tweed, puirt a bheul to celebrate and keep alive dance and piping music through the voice of the singer, story songs of legend and history, love songs -- all these are part of the music on Caior, presented with creativity and thoughtfulness as much as with celebration.

“I’ve always loved music that pushed the boundaries of what was considered trad without losing the soul of the songs,” Joy Dunlop said. “As a Gaelic singer, I’m always trying to make my music accessible to those who don’t speak the language.

“With this recording I wanted to capture the sentiment of the songs, whether the listener understands Gaelic or not.”

Another aspect that comes across clearly is the connection and creativity Joy and the artists who join her bring to the music.

Reflecting on this, Joy said “That mix of trust, creativity, and drive for exploration eventually emerged as an album that will hopefully resonate with trad fans and those who just love music.”

Whether you have Gaelic or not, give Caoir a listen -- more than one, really, to explore all the musicians have to offer. You are bound to enjoy the journey.

...and mention must be made of the visual aspect of the album, which really carries through that

them of flashes of fire while serving both the music and the artist. Photography is by Euan Robertson and album design is by LOOM Graphics.

You may also wish to see
A story about Dithis/Duo, an album from Joy Dunlop and her brother Andrew Dunlop
Alterum, an album by Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis
A story about the music of Cape Breton
This piece at Wandering Educators includes a video of Joy singing Am Braighe

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Scotland's Music: Two Down from Anna Massie

Anna Massie is a skilled backing musician on stage and in the recording studio, an ace collaborator at band work (she is a member of RANT and Blazin’ Fiddles), a gifted producer, and as the creator of The Black Isle Correspondent videos and presenter of BBC Scotland’s flagship folk radio show Travelling Folk, an award winning broadcaster.

Two Down is her recently released solo album

Indeed, Anna has a lot on her plate and many ways to share her musical gifts. So it makes sense that is has been some time -- since 2003 to be exact-- since she has recorded a solo album.

“I have been extremely lucky to work with a wide range of wonderful musicians over the years, but this is the first time I’ve recorded an entire Ot’album myself, playing all the musical roles,” Anna said.

“It’s ben a challenge, but a lot of fun. I’ve loved having complete creative control over the record and being able to explore my own individual sound.”

Anna is well known for her creative dexterity on guitar and her skill on fiddle. If you watched The Black Isle Correspondent you’ll know she is also a singer (if that’s new to you, this album is fine chance to hear her voice). Banjo, mandolin, tenor guitar, keyboards and mouth trumpet (“it’s exactly what you think, and it’s a real thing,” Anna points out in the sleeve notes) are instruments she brings into the mix as well.

A fine gathering of music it is, one that allows Anna space to show her creativity as a songwriter, arranger, and producer as well as a player. Her dry and wry wit comes out, too.

That wit is especially in evidence in her selection of songs to cover.

Among those are My Life Is Over Again from Cape Breton ’s JP Cormier which deftly pokes fun at a number of country music song tales, and Australian Tom Morgan’s The Outdoor Type, which finds the singer poking fun at herself for how much she’s not that.

On a bit of of a gentler note, Anna opens the album with her song Thanks for Writing, a light rhyming piece that yet contains some of that balance of connection and isolation found during lockdown times.

Dinner Medals is a lovely tune with a funny reason for its name (I will let you read the sleeve notes to find out about that).

The title tune of the Worth the Wait set is gentle, thoughtful, and lively, written to celebrate the marriage of Lauren MacColl and Ewan MacPherson (you have met both of them through their music here along the Music Road). It pairs with tunes written to honor a Black Isle naturalist and to mark the end of the first lockdown time in Scotland. ,

Tunes for friends’ weddings make up another set; there’s a tune written to mark one hundred days of the Black Isle Correspondent during lockdown, and a lovely arrangement of traditional tunes Battle of Waterloo and Out on the Ocean.

There’s also The Lovat Bar, a fine tune Anna wrote for her students in guitar class at the annual Blazin’ in Beauly music school that Blazin’ Fiddles members host each summer.

Two Down is almost a solo album -- but it seems only right that Anna invited her parents to join in.

Goren Berg’s Polka is a a tune her dad Bob Massie wrote and on which he plays mandolin. Her mum. Alison Massie, joins on spoons for that tune and also adds spoon percussion to that set of wedding tunes mentioned earlier.

There’s a tune inspired by Anna’ parents, too -- or at least their garden experiences. Anna spent the first pf Scotland’s lockdowns back in the Black Isle where she saw first hand how the veg growing was going. The tune is called The Pioneer Waltz. With that tune, and other songs and tunes on Two Down, you will have a fine time, whether you are exploring all the musical lines, laughing at the sound of the mouth trumpet, or taking the quieter tunes including The Pioneer Waltz, The Love Bar, and Out on the Ocean.

Anna has remarked that what she’d wish for Two Down is that it gives listeners a smile. That it does, on many levels.

You may also wish to see
Lauren MacColl’s album Haar, on which Anna plays guitars
About Blazin’ Fiddles
RANT’s album called Spin
From the Katie McNally Trio, the album Now More Than Ever. , which Anna produced

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