MÉLODIE: Brittany to the Balkans
Stanley Greenthal — guitar, mandocello, tenor guitar
Joel Bernstein — fiddle
Christos Govetas — oud, clarinet, bendir,
defi
Roger Landes — mandolin
Paddy League
— bodhran, dumbek, djembe, handclaps, shakers
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1. Mélodie (trad. Breton) / Person Ploergat (trad. Breton) [3:24]
The opening mélodie (or air) is a “call to the dance,” from
Brittany, followed by a march whose title means “The Priest of
Ploergat.” — Stanley: guitar, tenor guitar
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2. Gwez-Krén en noz (dañs en dro) (Jean-Michel
Veillon) [2:58] An uptempo Breton dance tune composed by
Jean-Michel Veillon (Jahn-Michelle Vay-on), an innovative
wooden flute player/composer from Brittany. The title in
French is “des trembles dans la nuit,” which means the aspens
in the night. — Paddy: bodhran, shakers / Stanley: guitar,
tenor guitar
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3. Kimiad (Kim-mee-odd) (trad. Breton) / Calanish (Hamish Moore) [5:42] A traditional Breton
march, followed by a march composed by Scottish piper Hamish
Moore for the Scottish small pipes. I first heard “Kimiad (le
départ)” sung by the famous Breton harpist Alan Stivell. It
describes the departure of conscripts forced to leave Brittany
to fight in a foreign war. — Stanley: guitar, tenor
guitar
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4. Dobrudja Danetz (Doh-brood-jah) (trad. Bulgarian) [2:53] An uptempo dance from Dobrudja, a
region in the Northeast of Bulgaria, on the Black Sea. The
dance is earthy and energetic, with a strong downward
emphasis. — Paddy: bodhran, dumbek / Roger: mandolin / Stanley: mandocello, tenor guitar
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5. Da Li Znaes, Pomnis Li (Dah Lee Znah-yesh, Pom-neesh Lee) (trad. Macedonian / Wouter Swets) [3:51] A hypnotic folk song from Macedonia. Although we play it as an instrumental, the words are worth noting:
“Do you remember when we were young? We sat in the rose-garden under a rose bush. The rose bush dripped onto us both. We caught the drops and rubbed our faces with them.”
Christos: clarinet, oud, bendir / Stanley: mandocello,
guitar
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6. Oye Vie (Oy
Vee) (trad. Manx) / Ogham En dros (trad. Breton)
[5:05] An atmospheric solo guitar piece that leads into a
strongly rhythmic set of Breton dance tunes. The air that
begins this set is from the Isle of Man. The En dros are from
an LP by a Breton group named Ogham. — Joel: fiddle / Paddy: bodhran, handclaps / Stanley: guitar, tenor guitar
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7. Song From Kolinda (Ko-linda) (trad.
Bulgarian) [4:26] An evocative melody of a 14th century
Bulgarian song, from the Hungarian folk group Kolinda. The
dance tune is also known as “Dospatsko Horo
(Dos-pat-skoh Hor-o). — Paddy: dumbek /
Stanley: mandocello
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8. THE BANNOCK’S MARCH SET: The Battle of
Waterloo (trad. Irish)
/ My Love is the Fair Lad (trad. Scottish) / The Bannock’s March (Stanley
Greenthal) [5:24] Beginning with a fade up, an unusual version
of the Irish march “The Battle of Waterloo” leads into “My
Love is the Fair Lad,” a jaunty 6/8 Scottish pipe march. The
last, somewhat crooked tune in the set is my own composition.
A bannock is a kind of Scots unleavened bread, flat and
roundish in shape, commonly made from oatmeal or barley meal
and baked on a griddle. — Paddy: bodhran / Roger: mandolin
/ Stanley: guitar, mandocello, tenor guitar
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9. Sonerion Bleimor (Son-air-ee-on Blay-more) (Alan Stivell) [3:32] A haunting, 4-part march composed by
Alan Stivell, when he was pipe major in the Bleimor bagpipe
band. I called it “Stivell’s March” for many years until I
learned its correct title. — Joel: fiddle / Stanley: guitar
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10. Baiduska (Bye-doose-ka) (trad.
Bulgarian & Greek) [2:37] A lively Bulgarian paidushko
dance that found its way to Greek Thrace, and eventually to
Seattle. (The melodic detour in the middle of the tune is my
own... and is not traditional.) — Paddy: dumbek, djembe / Stanley: mandocello
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11. Razlozko Kalajdzijsko Horo (Raz-loz-sko Kal-ah-jeez-ko Hor-o) (trad.
Macedonian) [3:26] This is a 19th century Tinker’s dance from
Razlog, Pirin-Macedonia, in Southwest Bulgaria. — Christos: oud, clarinet, bendir / Paddy: dumbek / Stanley: mandocello
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12. En dros (trad. Breton) [4:34] Four rhythmic,
hypnotic Breton dances from Padrig Sicard, a highly regarded
musician from Brittany. The last tune is called “En dro
Nevez.” — Joel: fiddle / Stanley: mandocello, guitar
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13. Syrtos Argos (Sear-tos Ar-ghos) (Manolis
Manasakis) [4:59] A slow improvisation (taksim) followed by a composition by Manolis Manasakis (Mahn-ah-sah-kees), legendary one-handed
bouzouki player from Crete. The taksim prior to the syrto is
my own contribution. — Christos: bendir, defi-zills /
Stanley: mandocello
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14. The Lament For Limerick (trad. Irish) [2:36] The
Boys of the Lough recorded this lovely Irish air years ago.
Here it is as a solo guitar piece. — Stanley: guitar
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15. Karsilamas From Thrace (Kar-shil-ah-mas) (trad. Greek) [4:53] A
slow improvisation leads into an energetic Greek dance tune
from the repertoire of Pericles Papapetropoulos (Papa-peh-troh-pol-us), an excellent player of
the Greek sazi (sah-zee). The taksims at the beginning and in
the middle of the piece are my and Christos’ collaborative
musical conversations. — Christos: oud, bendir / Paddy: dumbek / Stanley: mandocello
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16. Skaliotikos Syrto (Ska-lee-yo-tee-kos Sear-toe) (trad.
Cypriot) [6:12] A slow improvisation preceeds an uptempo dance
from Cyprus that I learned from Georgios Leftheriotis (Yore-gos Lef-thair-ee-oh-tis), a
soulful Greek fiddle player who lives in Fresno, California.
Again, the taksims are original. — Christos: clarinet, defi
/ Stanley: mandocello, guitar
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17. Rory Dall’s Sister’s Lament (Rory Dall O
Cathain) [4:26] A harp tune by either Rory Dall O Cathain (O
Keene), the 17th century Derry harper, or perhaps the Scottish
Rorie Dall Morrison. This piece is for my wife Kip’s mother,
Anne Grosvenor Robinson, (1919-2001). — Roger: mandolin / Stanley: guitar
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18. Dañs Plinn (trad. Breton) [3:33] The great Irish
fiddler Kevin Burke reputedly introduced this uplifting set of
Breton tunes to the Portland, Oregon folk music community
years ago. Their rhythm is unlike any dañs plinn set I have
ever heard, so it is quite possible they are not plinns. But
that is how everyone who plays these tunes calls them. From
Brittany to the Balkans, the circle of mélodie comes round.
— Joel: fiddle / Stanley: guitar
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