String Sisters: Live

String Sisters

Live

They really are sisters in music, the six inventive, creative fiddle players from related but different traditions in the Celtic and Nordic worlds who join up for this live recording, made at a gig they did in Norway. Emma Hardelin is from Sweden, Annbjorg Lien from Norway, Liz Carroll and Liz Knowles from the United States, Catriona Macdonald from Shetland and Mairéad ni Mhaonaigh from Ireland.

It’s a joyous and varied journey they offer, mainly sets of tunes, with many of the tunes being original ones from members of the group. Shetland, New York, and a trip to Japan meet in the back stories of the opening set, and later on there’s a Swedish traditional song [sung by Hardelin] paired with a jig Knowles wrote one year at Celtic Connections, inspired by the similarities she heard among Irish, Scottish, and Norwegian styles.

It was at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow that the String Sisters first got together, in fact, for what was thought to be a one off gig. They liked working together so well it turned into in tour. You’ll see why they decided to do that as you listen to Mairéad ni Mhaonaigh sing Ta Mo Chleamhnas A Dheanamh/The Matchmaking Song, and to the exuberant playing on Lien’s The April Child, matched up with Macdonald’s The Joy of It. Top notch players, and top notch collaborators as well, with music which offers more interest with each listening.

you may also want to see

Hanneke Cassel (video)

Liz Carroll & John Doyle: Double Play

Ellery Klein & Ryan Lacey: Kick into the Beat

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