This is a purely instrumental album of a wonderful variety of tunes from the (mainly) English tradition. Bryony is joined in a beautifully unobtrusive fashion by Ian Stephenson on guitar and double bass on some tracks. Ian is also responsible for recording, mixing and mastering of the album. Multi-tasking of a high order!
The sheer tunefulness of the music is what strikes me on first hearing. There is not a duff note in the whole album. Double-stopping comes as standard in so many of the tunes and is spot on every time.
I loved the variety of the music, illustrating Bryony’s involvement in Morris, Rapper, ceilidh,sessions and concert performances. The sleeve notes are comprehensive and I am sure many of us musicians will be digging out the dots to play some of the gems we have missed, and which Bryony has unearthed here. As a devotee of minuets I will be looking for the Castle, from Benjamin Cooke. A delightful piece. I think she saved the best till last: Burnett’s Jig, played as a slow air and triple-tracked -or maybe double tracked with double stopping throighout. However she did it, it is a superb piece of musicianship.
I think by now, dear reader, you will have worked out that I rather liked this CD.
Mary Humphreys