Fiddlers 4

Fiddlers 4

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Classical musicians have been pinching melodies from folk musicians since before Mozart's day, so it seems only fair that the folkies should return the favor by borrowing the idea of the string quartet from the classical world. Fiddlers 4 is a supergroup formed by Cajun legend Michael Doucet, old-time master Bruce Molsky, progressive bluegrasser Darol Anger, and Rushad Eggleston, a dazzling young cellist who was still attending the Berklee College of Music when this recording was made. As you might expect given the musicians' pedigree, the tunes include Cajun numbers like "You Little Wild Thing (La Bétaille)" and songs from the bluegrass tradition like "Man of Constant Sorrow." What's surprising is how the four musicians take these familiar melodies and create a complex harmonic and rhythmic sound that simultaneously honors the tradition while reveling in the new sonic possibilities. Doucet, Molsky, and Anger each contribute original compositions that add jazz, African, Caribbean, and blues elements to the mix. The Fiddlers 4 are perhaps unique in the world: they are a string quartet that makes you want to get up and dance. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews:

Nothing but hits.......2001-01-31

As with their first collection of label highlights, Hyperion's new two-disc collection provides a broad sampling of their exceptional catalogue and performers. Particularly rewarding are the selections from Beethoven (Scherzo from String Trio in C minor, op 9 no 3, performed by the Leopold Trio) and Thomas Tallis (Salvator mundi I, performed by the Winchester Cathedral Choir), but experienced and novice listeners alike will find much to enjoy on these discs. It's also a good value--more than 2 1/2 hours of music for less than $10.

Average customer rating:

Fine playing, great interpretations
This one really hit me today
A Grammy Nominee
SIMPLY THE BEST AMERICAN MUSIC OUT THERE!!!!
wonderful fusion

Fiddlers 4
Fiddlers 4 , Bruce Molsky , Michael Doucet , Darol Anger , and Rushad Eggleston
Manufacturer: Compass Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Republic of Strings
Fire & Grace
Shaken by a Low Sound
Diary of a Fiddler
Heritage

ASIN: B000060P8H
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Tracks:

Pickin' the Devil's Eye
You Little Wild Thing (La Bitaille)
E. St. Louis Todalo
Hidirassirifo
Just a Closer Walk with Thee/I Know
Chez Seychelles
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
African Solstice
Man of Constant Sorrow
Mazurka/Acadian Two-Step
Greek Medley/Polly Put the Kettle On
Danse Caribe
Atchafalaya Pipeline

Amazon.com

Classical musicians have been pinching melodies from folk musicians since before Mozart's day, so it seems only fair that the folkies should return the favor by borrowing the idea of the string quartet from the classical world. Fiddlers 4 is a supergroup formed by Cajun legend Michael Doucet, old-time master Bruce Molsky, progressive bluegrasser Darol Anger, and Rushad Eggleston, a dazzling young cellist who was still attending the Berklee College of Music when this recording was made. As you might expect given the musicians' pedigree, the tunes include Cajun numbers like "You Little Wild Thing (La Bétaille)" and songs from the bluegrass tradition like "Man of Constant Sorrow." What's surprising is how the four musicians take these familiar melodies and create a complex harmonic and rhythmic sound that simultaneously honors the tradition while reveling in the new sonic possibilities. Doucet, Molsky, and Anger each contribute original compositions that add jazz, African, Caribbean, and blues elements to the mix. The Fiddlers 4 are perhaps unique in the world: they are a string quartet that makes you want to get up and dance. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews:

Fine playing, great interpretations.......2005-12-24

The musicians on this CD really work well together. They come from very different backgrounds, but created a marvelously cohesive sound. The tunes selected for this album are also from different musical traditions. Some are cajun melodies, while others are on the bluegrass side of things. These fellows brought them all together in a really wonderful, consistently enjoyable set of songs that I can listen to over and over without ever tiring of it. Great CD.

This one really hit me today.......2004-05-05

Okay, so I was getting antsy waiting for my copy of Darol Anger's American Fiddle Ensemble - Republic of Strings (his newest release) to arrive, so I revisited this one. It's been quite some time since I listened to this release and I have always thought of it as an album that is uneven, but with great moments. Well, I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I was wrong. Aside from really just two tracks, this disc is excellent! I don't know how I ever thought of this as anything less than a fantastic disc. I listened to it today and literally had to get up off the couch and dance in the living room.

Lots could be said about the three legends on this disc, but I want to also give a moment to Rushad (cello). This isn't just some young guy who got lucky and knew someone who knew someone and ended up getting a prime gig. Rushad is utterly brilliant! His cello playing changes the whole feel and movement of everything on which he plays. This could have been called Fiddlers 3 (just the legends) and it still would have been great, but it would have been a completely different album. Rushad's playing, and the sonority of the cello, just gives all these tunes a certain depth and a certain body that they could not have achieved without him.

As was said in a previous review, yes, this is the best, most emotionally powerful Man Of Constant Sorrow I have ever heard.

The number of stars to give a disc is usually the toughest part of the review. The other day I reviewed the new Garcia/Grisman album (Been All Around This World) and gave it three. I'm giving this one four, but that seems unfair to Fiddlers 4. It is head-and-shoulders better than Been All Around This World, in every possible way. I guess if I were to be more accurate, I would consider Been All Around to be a 2.7-star album, and this to be a 4.3.

This disc is a must-have classic, and just one more reason to believe that Darol Anger is still the most forward-thinking "new acoustic musician" of his generation. Thank you, Darol! Keep the classics coming!

A Grammy Nominee.......2003-01-25

I saw Darol playing with a whole crew of string players in San Francisco and had never been so entertained. That Rushad kid ROCKED! What presence, what a beat, Rythmn too! Somewhere Darol trimmed the group to this 4. They played at the Skirball center here in Los Angeles and I haven't stopped hearing great stuff about the show (also an over the top review in the LA Times). This CD is just irresistible. And although it almost doesn't say much being a Grammy nominee anymore this one stands out..

SIMPLY THE BEST AMERICAN MUSIC OUT THERE!!!!.......2002-04-29

OK. This one's a winner!!! The Fiddlers 4 are doing great things for American vernacular music. What makes this CD so outstanding is the fiddle masters themselves and the arrangements they have collectively created from (and the original compositions like Anger's "African Solstice" and Doucet's "Danse Caribe" they've added to) the wide, wonderful spectrum of our American fiddle repertoire. (American means it comes from diverse places!) The CD unfolds so nicely from the opening Mississippi sharecropper's tune, "Pickin' The Devil's Eye," to its ending Doucet-original Cajun tune. What a JOY listening to this new quatuor's vivid musical imagination, its primal groove-based string sound, and its well-placed musical jokes (listen for "Atchafalaya Pipeline"'s finale). Thanks to Darol for just being DAROL and an unassuming genius; Bruce for just being BRUCE and for his touching tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free;" Michael for singing, composing, and playing in Cajun French (a most beautiful language); and Rushad for the host of amazing characters that climb out of his cello! This CD gets my very highest recommendation -- VIVE American vernacular music! VIVE these 4 musical musketeers!!!! (pioneers!!!!)

wonderful fusion.......2002-04-25

Shortly after buying the CD, I saw the group perform in Somerville, MA. They are an energetic and highly entertaining ensemble (very funny on stage), and their musicianship is superb. I can highly recommend the CD, which roams around bluegrass, Cajun, jazz, African, and Caribbean with equal facility. There's so much to admire on this disc, like Bruce Molsky's riveting "Man of Constant Sorrow" (the best version I've ever heard), the gorgeous textures of "Chez Seychelles," or the hypnotic "African Solstice." It's all quite irresistible.

Average customer rating:

Rautavaara: Works for Piano

Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000376R
Release Date: 1995-02-01

Tracks:

Fiddlers (Pelimannit), Op.1: 1. Narbolaisten Braa Speli
Fiddlers (Pelimannit), Op.1: 2. Kopsin Jonas
Fiddlers (Pelimannit), Op.1: 3. Jacob Konni
Fiddlers (Pelimannit), Op.1: 4. Klockar Samuel Dikstrom
Fiddlers (Pelimannit), Op.1: 5. Pirun Polska
Fiddlers (Pelimannit), Op.1: 6. Hypyt
Icons, Op.6: 1. The Death Of The Virgin
Icons, Op.6: 2. Two Unknown Saints
Icons, Op.6: 3. The Black Virgin Of Blakernaja
Icons, Op.6: 4. The Baptism Of Christ
Icons, Op.6: 5. The Women At The Tomb
Icons, Op.6: 6. The Archangel Michael Triumphs Over Antichrist
Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': 1.
Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': 2. Attacca
Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': 3.
Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': 1. Molto Allegro
Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': 2. Andante Assai
Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': 3. Allegro Brutale
Etudes, Op.42: 1. Terssit
Etudes, Op.42: 2. Septimit
Etudes, Op.42: 3. Tritonukset
Etudes, Op.42: 4. Kvartit
Etudes, Op.42: 5. Sekunnit
Etudes, Op.42: 6. Kvintit

Rautavaara: Complete Works for String Orchestra

Average customer rating:

It all started with his 3rd Symphony and "Cantus Arcticus."

Rautavaara: Complete Works for String Orchestra

Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Polkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Rautavaara: On the Last Frontier
Rautavaara: Symphony No. 6; Cello Concerto
Rautavaara: Garden of Spaces; Clarinet Concerto; Cantus Arcticus
Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No. 3 "Gift of Dreams", Autumn Gardens / Ashkenazy
Rautavaara: Violin Concerto; Angels and Visitations; Isle of Bliss

ASIN: B00005BIJ7
Release Date: 2001-07-24

Tracks:

Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Narbolaisten braa speli
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Kopsin Jonas
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Klocker Samuel Dikstrom
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Pirun polska
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Hypyt
Divertimento: Allegro
Divertimento: Adagio
Divertimento: Allegretto ma energico
Suite For Strings: Presto
Suite For Strings: Andante
Suite For Strings: Vivace assai (Alla giga)
Hommage a Liszt Ferenc
An Epitaph For Bela Bartok (Prelude and Fugue)
Hommage a Kodaly Zoltan

Tracks:

Canto I
Canto II
Canto III
Canto IV
Ballad for Harp and Strings
A Finnish Myth
Ostrobothnian Polska

Amazon.com

The music of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928) is a wily mix of regional Romanticism and many of the European trends in atonality that began in the 1950s. Yet Rautavaara's music is both endurable by and accessible to the first-time listener. This two-CD set of works for string orchestra appeared on two Ondine discs, both released in 1995. It offers a wide range of works that highlight Rautavaara's compositional strengths and musical interests. Disc one contains his tone poems, works that tend toward the Romanticism of Sibelius, especially Pelimannit--The Fiddlers (1952) and the gorgeous Divertimento (1953). Disc two contains the more acerbic compositions of the latter part of the 20th century. Best here are Ballad for Harp and Strings (1973/1981) and Canto IV (1992). If you missed the original releases of this music, then track this one down. It's a must for Rautavaara fans. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

It all started with his 3rd Symphony and "Cantus Arcticus.".......2001-10-24

It started innocently enough. Approximately a year and a half ago, I had barely - if that - a subliminal awareness of Einojuhani Rautavaara as a "contemporary" composer, one of a large number of present-day Finnish composers. (There is something weirdly wonderful about such a small country having such a large number of active - and recognized - composers, but that is a whole 'nother story.)

In the intervening 18 months, that initial hearing of Rautavaara's music (on a Naxos release which I review elsewhere at Amazon.com) led me to become pretty much a Rautavaara "compleatist." As I write this, there are very few holes in my library of his music, and I figure that those holes will be plugged rather quickly. He's had that kind of effect on me.

This double-CD album of Rautavaara's complete works for string orchestra is the latest release by Ondine, the Finnish label which has an exclusive contract for first recorded performances of his works. The compositional period covered almost matches Rautavaara's career, in that dates for the various works cover the period 1952 - 1993. The album provides, as a result, an excellent overview of how his style has changed throughout his career, from Stravinsky-like neoClassicism in the earlier works to his mature evocative "Angels" style of his later works.

The album begins - logically enough - with his Op. 1, Pelimannit ("The Fiddlers" [1952]), a whacky riot of fun with its occasional off-tune fiddling. The next two works (Divertimento [1953] and Suite for Strings [1952]) clearly suggest the neoClassicism of Stravinsky (an early idol of Rautavaara's), but it is also possible to read into these works the sound worlds of both Britten and Respighi in the ways that they evoked earlier styles. Taken together, these three youthful works capture Rautavaara's early style, which goes down very easily in its accessibility.

The next set of three works - homages to the three most famous Hungarian composers (Liszt, Bartók and Kodály) - may not have been intentionally meant to suggest the Ugric ties between the languages of these two countries (Finland and Hungary). These three pieces do capture, however obliquely, various aspects of the three composers' styles, with the Hommage à Kodály Zoltán being the most "Hungarian-sounding." A somewhat more challenging triptych than the first three works, but not at all inaccessible.

The four Cantos opening the second CD show how, over time, Rautavaara developed a post-modernist "late period" style that synthesized many of his earlier styles (including serial, or twelve-tone, efforts). The two earlier Cantos begin to show his unique approach to serialism that was more fully realized in his echt-Bruckner 3rd Symphony; they put the lie to twelve-tone music being "unlistenable." The two later Cantos show Rautavaara's evocatively rhapsodic "Angels" style in full bloom, as do the following two pieces (Ballad for Harp and Strings, and A Finnish Myth).

The album comes full-circle with the final work, Ostrobothnian Polksa, more good cheer in the vein of the Op. 1 opening work. I think that opening work will hook you, and that the balance of this comprehensive album will be equally enjoyable. I may be a Rautavaara compleatist, but this album will be immensely appealing to all who hear it. And do check out that Naxos album I mention at the outset of these comments. That's a great one as well.

Bob Zeidler

Average customer rating:

Arthur Shepherd

Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Caprices | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000006HI2
Release Date: 1998-03-17

Tracks:

Second Sonata For Piano: I - Moderato, ma decisamente
Second Sonata For Piano: II - Moderato cantabile, ma semplice
Second Sonata For Piano: III - Enfatico ed affrettato; Tocatta: Vivacissimo
Capriccio II
Lento Amabile
In Modo Ostinato
Exotic Dance No. I
Exotic Dance No. 2
Eclogue No. 4
Gigue Fantasque
The Starting Lake
The Fiddlers
The Gentle Lady
The Lost Child
Sunday Up The River
Golden Stockings
In The Scented Bud Of The Morning
Morning Glory
To A Trout
The Charm
Bacchus
Where Loveliness Keeps House

Rautavaara: Pelimannit Op1; String quartet No4

Average customer rating:

Rautavaara: Pelimannit Op1; String quartet No4

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000166X
Release Date: 1994-09-22

Tracks:

Pelimannit (Fiddlers), Op.1 - Jorma Rahkonen
Sonetto For Clarinet And Piano - Eva Knardahl
Sonata For Flutes And Guitar - Diego Blanco
I. String Quartet No.4, Op.87 - Eva Knardahl
I. String Quartet No.4, Op.87 - Voces Intimae String Quartet
I. String Quartet No.4, Op.87 - Voces Intimae String Quartet
Monologues Of The Unicorn - Jukka Saijoki
Serenades Of The Unicorn - Jukka Saijoki
Ludus Verbalis - Einar Isacson
I. Kyrie - Paavo Pohjola
II. Meditatio Super Kyrie - Paavo Pohjola
III. Gloria - Paavo Pohjola
IV. Meditatio Super Gloriam - Paavo Pohjola
V. Agnus Dei - VI. Meditatio Super Agnum - Paavo Pohjola
VII. Halleluja - Paavo Pohjola

Average customer rating:

CAROLE FARLEY AT HER BEST

Carole Farley Sings Grieg

Manufacturer: Beloved
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000JG1X
Release Date: 1999-07-13

Tracks:

Solveig's Cradle Song
Fiddlers
A Swan
Album Lines
With A Water-Lily
Departed!
A Bird-Song
The Mountain Thrall
A Vision
From Monte Pincio
Greeting
One Day, O Heart Of Mine
The Way Of The World
The Nightingale's Secret
The Time Of Roses
A Dream
To The Motherland
The Princess
Little Kirsten
Mother's Lament
On The Water
A Bird Cried Out
Eros

Customer Reviews:

CAROLE FARLEY AT HER BEST.......2000-01-31

I had heard several recordings of this beautiful singer before, mostly on radio broadcasts, doing opera excerpts and oratorios, but this CD was a revelation. Her sensitivity and exquisite voice are perfectly suited to the intimate songs of Grieg. Superlative original orchestrations by Jose Serebrier and first-class playing by both the London Philharmonic and the Philharmonia, under Serebrier's direction,provide a MUST HAVE RECORDING! M.F.

Four and Twenty Fiddlers - Music for the Restoration Court Violin Band (English Orpheus Vol 19) /Parley of Instruments Renaissance Violin Band * Holman

Average customer rating:

Four and Twenty Fiddlers - Music for the Restoration Court Violin Band (English Orpheus Vol 19) /Parley of Instruments Renaissance Violin Band * Holman
Peter Holman
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000002ZT5
Release Date: 1993-12-28

Tracks:

Curtain Tune in C Major
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': Introduction
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': Galliard
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': Gavot
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': Sarabrand
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': Lilk
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': Curtain Tune
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': The First Act Tune (Rustick Air)
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': The Second Act Tune (Minoit)
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': The Third Act Tune (Corant)
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': The Fourth Act Tune (A Martial Jigge)
Incidental music for Thomas Shadwell's operatic version of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest': The Conclusion (A Canon 4 in 2)
Suite of Brawles in B flat: First Brawl
Suite of Brawles in B flat: Second Brawl
Suite of Brawles in B flat: Leading Brawl
Suite of Brawles in B flat: Gavott
Suite of Brawles in B flat: Corant
Suite of Brawles in B flat: Saraband
Suite of Brawles in B flat: Conclusion
Suite In G Minor: Alman
Suite In G Minor: Corant
Suite In G Minor: Firk
Suite In G Minor: Alman
Suite In G Minor: Corant
Suite In G Minor: Firk
Suite In G Minor: Curtain Tune in D major
The Musick att the Bath: Ayre
The Musick att the Bath: Corant
The Musick att the Bath: Ayre
The Musick att the Bath: Ayre
The Musick att the Bath: Bourree
The Musick att the Bath: Jig
The Musick att the Bath: Air
The Musick att the Bath: Hornpipe
The Musick att the Bath: Saraband
The Musick att the Bath: Air
The Musick att the Bath: Air
The Musick att the Bath: Jig
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Air pour les haubois
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Air pour les flutes
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Prelude
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Air pour Jupiter
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Air pour les suivans de Jupiter
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Air pour les songes affreux
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Air pour les satires
Incidental Music for Rochester's play 'Valentinian': Menuet
Concert of Venus from 'Albion and Albanius'
The Staircase Overture in B flat
Chacony in G minor

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Recommended Music:

Writing on the Wall [Import]

Forqueray: Livre de Clavecin de Madame Forqueray

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

1945-1946: Magic Carpet Selections

Finelines [Import]

Dumb, Pt. 2 [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]

Family Affair, Vol. 2: Live at Radio City Music Hall [Live]

Earl Wild Plays Brahms & Liszt

Early Hits of "The Tennessee Plowboy"

Canta a Pablo Milanes

Five Fathoms [CD-single] [Import]

Dos En Uno. Volumen 1

Exposure [Import]

Flute Sonatas

Ghetto Fabulous