A review for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
By Kerry Dexter
(kdex@freenet.tlh.fl.us)
The members of the instrumental trio Helicon play hammered dulcimer, flutes, cittern, guitar and fiddle, so you might think them a Celtic band. There *are* four traditional Irish pieces on HORIZONS -along with two from Sweden, a selection of Andean and Peruvian tunes, and pieces from Greece, Macedonia, Rumania, the United States, and Brazil. Though they respect tradition in their arrangements, the group brings their own energetic signature to each tune. Twenty-two songs are presented here as a series of nine medleys: eight of them combining traditional music from a region; and composed pieces by Brazilian Moacyr Braga and group member Robin Bullock (he's the guitarist and cittern player) comprising the ninth. Bullock, Ken Kolodner (dulcimer and fiddle) and Chris Norman (flutes) lead listeners on a lively journey through little known material with innovative use of their instruments. Here are the songs they've chosen: "Macedonian" and "Ceauescu Quickstep"; "Death of the Incas" and "Dance of the Coyas"; "Polska" and "Lastringe Storpolksa"; "Kalevala Melody" and "Morsiamen Hyvastijatto"; "The Dawn", "McGovern's", "Piper on Horseback", "Bay of Fundy", and "Stoney Point"; "Mr. Pantaleish" and "The Lemon Tree"; "Lost Child" and "Hunting for Buffalo"; "Alborado and Desdenosa"; and "Cascacta de Lagrimas" by Braga with Bullock's "The Straight Shot" and "Pepper Mountain".
[Edited by: Cynthia A. Harney <cyndi@brainiac.com>]
This review is copyrighted by Three Rivers Folklife Society, 1996, and
Kerry Dexter, 1996.
It may be reproduced with prior permission and
attribution.
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