Celtic Instrumentals
Release Date:
April 29, 1997
Tracks:
1. MacPherson's Lament lyrics
(Traditional)
It is said that MacPherson (a Scottish outlaw/fiddler) composed this air and played it on the gallows before he was hanged. Present at this event were three scoundrels drawing lots to see which one of them would have MacPherson's fiddle after his demise. MacPherson finished the tune and broke the instrument over his knee to keep it from falling into their hands. This piece is a classic and has remained in our repertoire from the beginning.
2. Little Sara/Jessie's Jig lyrics
(Dave Panting)
A set of two jigs written in the traditional style and named after two of Dave’s daughters.
3. O'Neils March/The Haughs of Cromdale lyrics
(Traditional)
Two marches built on an arrangement by Geoff and Tom Roach. David Benson, a historian friend, tells us that O'Neil's March (also called O'Neil's Cavalcade) was used to accompany cavalry into battle.
4. The Wedding Gift lyrics
(Dave Panting)
Dave composed this waltz in honour of Ian's marriage to Catherine Craig of St. John's. They used it at the reception for their first dance together as a married couple. Since then many of our fans have followed suit and we have the pictures to prove it! Please keep them coming!
5. Mac's Fancy/Give Me a Drink of Water lyrics
(Traditional/W.J. Strachan)
A jig followed by a slip-jig. Irish music/Scottish medium?!?
6. Israel Got a Rabbit lyrics
(Traditional)
Geoff's arrangement of a tune learned from the great Newfoundland fiddler, Rufus Guinchard.
7. The Memory Waltz lyrics
(Dave Panting)
This waltz was written in 1983 while Dave was reflecting on his first ten years or so as a professional musician. It inspired a video which incorporated images of the troubled Newfoundland fishery and won an East Coast Music Award in 1993
8. Back Down Home Medley lyrics
(Donald MacLeod/Ian McKinnon/Dave Panting/Traditional)
This is a medley consisting of two jigs, followed by two reels. Ian's bagpiping prowess and (ahem!) unbeatable bodhran are showcased on "Glasgow City Police Pipers" and "Catherine's Milestone," the latter being written by Ian for his wife's birthday. "Back Down Home" is an original by Dave. The set finishes with a Scottish chestnut called "The Ale is Dear."
9. The Rollicking Skipper B./The Shimmy lyrics
(Traditional)
These two hard-driving Newfoundland standards have been crowd-pleasers at our live shows for years. It felt great to finally record them for this album.
10. The Little Beggarman lyrics
(Traditional)
This set starts with two reels featuring the pipes ("Sleepy Maggie" and "The Gravel Walk") and then kicks into the ever popular "Little Beggarman" (features invisible step dancing!).
11. Mairi Nighean Alasdair lyrics
(Traditional)
We close with this lovely Scottish melody which speaks for itself. Thanks to Natalie MacMaster for her wonderful fiddling and Chad Irschick for building the lush mix
Production notes:
An introduction from Dave Panting
A few years ago I was present at The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival in my hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland. One of the performers that evening was Uilleann piper Eamon Curran, who was visiting from Ireland. A thick fog had rolled off the Atlantic Ocean and enveloped everything. Eamon appeared to be suspended in the mist as he went into a slow air on his pipes. As the music took hold, I felt myself transported. I might have been in Ireland 300 years ago (or 300 years hence for that matter). The expressive power of music had transcended time, space and the spoken word!
The music that my ancestors made has been the rock on which I have built my musical home. The moment I mastered my first jig on the mandolin, I felt as if I had been reborn into a family with a new sense of continuity and belonging. Anyone who has attended an 'old fashioned' dance in Newfoundland or Cape Breton can bear witness to this sense of community; the square set, where each member of the company must interact with all the others. Tensions overcome, transgressions forgiven, love's petitions put forward, unity achieved—all through the interaction of dance, powered by wild, driving Celtic instrumental music.
This great tradition, along with many others, helps to shape the musical language of Rawlins Cross. The past and present are woven into a seamless fusion by musicians of varying backgrounds with a common love of good music, wherever it is found…
Rawlins Cross is:
Dave Panting: guitars, mandolin
Ian McKinnon: highland bagpipes, tin whistles, bodhran, trumpet
Geoff Panting: accordions, keyboards
Brian Bourne: bass, Chapman Stick
Howie Southwood: drums
Joey Kitson: vocalist extraordinaire (absent from this recording for obvious reasons)
With:
Tom Roach: drums on "O'Neil's March," "Israel Got a Rabbit" and "The Memory Waltz"
Catherine McKinnon: fiddle on "MacPherson's Lament"
Allan MacKenzie, John MacLean and Jack MacLean: highland bagpipes on "MacPherson's Lament"
Natalie MacMaster: fiddle on "Main Nighean Alasdair"
Tracks 3, 6, 7 are from the album "Crossing the Border" recorded by Howard England at Salter Street Studio, Halifax, NS, 1992.
Tracks 1, 4 are from the album "Reel 'n' Roll" recorded by Hayward Parrott at Solar Audio, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1993.
Tracks 2, 11 are from the album "Living River" recorded by Chad Irschick at Inception Sound, Toronto, Ontario, 1995. "Little Sara/Jessie's Jig" remixed by Chad Irschick and Geoff Panting at Inception Sound December, 1996.
Tracks 5, 8, 9, 10 were recorded especially for this album by Chad Irschick at Inception Sound, October, 1996 and mixed by Chad Irschick and Geoff Panting at Inception in December of 1996.
All tunes and arrangements are registered with SOCAN.
Produced by Rawlins Cross
Mastered by Chad Irschick at The Lacquer Channel, Toronto, Ontario
Instrument photography by Florian Kuchurean, Photo 67
Graphic Design by Benjamin Fong / Doug Aucoin