Tapestry IV - Gentlemen by Julia Lane & Fred Gosbee

Julia Lane - Celtic Harp, Voice

Fred Gosbee - Violin,Viola, Woodwinds, Guitar, Bass,Voice, Percussion, Tuba

Guest Musicians

Barbara Burt, French horn (King of Laois, The Minstrel Boy)

Brett Burnham, Bones (King of the Fairies)

Doreen Conboy, cello (Ruari Dalls' Jig, Carolan's Draught, The Minstrel Boy)

Ian MacHarg, Scottish smallpipes (Dainty Davie)

Laura Lee Perkins, flutes (The Minstrel Boy)

Alden Robinson, fiddle (Iron Man/ Angus Campbell)

All selections Arranged and Produced by Julia Lane and Fred Gosbee

Ruari Dall's Jig and Carolan's Draught recorded at Celebration Sound, Pawtucket, RI

All others recorded at Harper's Wood, Round Pond, Maine

Fred Gosbee -Recording and Mixing Engineer

Mastered by Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital, Southboro, MA

Special thanks to the Harrington Meetinghouse in Pemaquid for the use of their tuba

This recording is dedicated to the memories of Ron Kadwell and Bill Wheeler

We are deeply grateful to Kristina for all her love and inspiration.

Notes on the Music

Our procession of Gentlemen begins with the elegant March of the King of Laois (pronounced "leash")It may have been composed for Ruari Og O'Mordha, king of an ancient Irish province .Ruari Dall's Jig was made by a blind Scottish harper for his patrons on the Isle of Skye. Carolan's Draught, by Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1685-1735) celebrates his favorite libation.The Scottish Daft Robin could be named for a mythical sprite,or perhaps a just a dreamy young man. According to Celtic myth, the King of the Faeries is a trickster and shapeshifter- listen for the magic. Lament for the Rev. Archie Beaton salutes a 20th century Ayrshire minister and champion of Gaelic culture. Dainty Davie, a Scottish dandy, has at least two sets of lyrics, one by Robert Burns, with contrasting sensibilities. Maurice O'Connor, another piece composed by O'Carolan, was made and named for one of his many patrons.Traditional tunes are often played in sets as When the King Came Over the Boyne (air) Lord Lovat's (march), The Iron Man (strathspey), and Angus Campbell (reel). The last two were made by 19th century Scottish fiddler Scott Skinner. Sweet Jim (©2001 Julia Lane & Fred Gosbee) is a tribute to our romantic friend and his lady love.Two Laments for Owen Roe commemorate a pair of Irish heroes, one of the pen and one of the sword.Owen Roe O'Sullivan, was a "sweet-mouthed" 18th century Munster poet and Gen.Owen Roe O'Neill won a strategic victory against Cromwell in1646. The Minstrel Boy has lyrics by Thomas Moore and is a moving salute to courage and conviction in the face of adversity.

In the days of yesteryear, Gentlemen were men of honour, integrity and chivalry. This recording evokes a scene of romantic heroes enjoying a convivial moment in a pastoral setting.

CASTLEBAY features sensitive, spirited arrangements of music that was popular in the fine country estates of the 17th & 18th century British Isles as well as original compositions.They have toured the Eastern U.S., England, Scotland and Ireland playing at festivals, museums, and arts centers, as well as on radio and television. Julia Lane's unique, self-taught playing of the "clarsach" or Celtic folk harp has won three international competitions. A multi-instrumentalist, Fred Gosbee has also designed and built several guitars, harps, and whistles. In addition, both are fine, expressive vocalists delivering songs with emotion and exuberance.

JULIA LANE

Julia Lane has loved, sung, researched and created folk music since childhood. Fascinated by the stories embodied in the folk songs she heard, she learned to sing the evocative melodies, making up her own songs for her own entertainment. As an adolescent, she studied music theory and took guitar lessons from a lutenist specializing in Elizabethan songs. In researching the sources of the music, the wealth of lore and history recorded in musical form rekindled her interest in the music of her childhood. She became active in madrigal and Renaissance music groups as well as performing as a soloist and providing music for a children's theater group. In addition, she was inspired by the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien and his sources. She composed her first melody for one of his "songs"when she was fifteen and has since completed ten more. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1974, her interest in English and Scottish folk music and lore led her to study in Oxford, England.

She is a self-taught player of the "clarsach" or Celtic folk harp which she began in 1989. As a result of her classic guitar training, she plays in the ancient method using her fingernails which gives a bright, clean sound. Her unique style has won three international competitions. Judge/harpist Kim Robertson praised her "innovative arrangements and energetic performance" and harpist Dennis Doyle declared "she really captured the spirit of the music." Julia Lane is also an exceptional vocalist,"one the Maine coast's foremost voices," whose voice has been called "lovely, vibrant," "reminiscent of Jean Redpath," and compared favorably with Loreena McKennitt, Triona ni Dhomnhaill, and Judy Collins.

In the past fifteen years, she has toured the Eastern U.S., Ireland, England and Scotland playing at festivals, folk clubs, and arts centers, as well as on radio and television. Julia has training in early childhood education and children's theatre and has taught history and social studies through folk music in both formal and informal settings. She is currently living in coastal Maine and raising three teenage children and a garden.

Inspiration

Using the vehicle of her expressive, award-winning Celtic harp playing and her silken vocals, Julia Lane now gives new voice to an ancient tradition. Creating original songs reminiscent of the traditional music of her Celtic ancestors, she captures the essential beauty of coastal Maine, her native state. Through the time-honored art of meaningful songwriting, Julia Lane expresses in her words and music our fundamental connection with wind and wave, sea and sky. Her songs are an authentic expression of an intimate experience with the elemental.

Ms. Lane feels the connection between the northeastern American continent and the Celtic lands to be very strong." The most obvious link of course is that of the immigrants who settled here in the last three centuries. I feel it goes deeper than that. Many of the landscapes are strikingly similar. People naturally resonate with their physical surroundings, and the spirituality of the ancient inhabitants of both areas have common themes- a reverence for our relationship with Nature and her cycles." Much of the traditional Celtic music reflects that reverence as do Lane's original compositions. Julia Lane's family has lived in Maine for 300 years and the heritage and history of her Maine ancestors has also proved a source of inspiration.

Fred Gosbee was born and grew up in rural central Maine and has collected and performed folk music for over thirty years. His grandparents moved to Maine from New Brunswick in the 1920's and as a child he heard his older relatives singing the old woodsmen's songs and playing fiddle and accordian. He dabbled in the viola as his arms were long enough to reach. During high school, he had training in standard band instruments becoming one of the best tuba players in the state. He had experience with a wide variety of performance groups including orchestras, marching bands,and church and school choirs.When an application to join the Navy band went awry, he entered the University of Maine where he studied folklore under Sandy Ives as well as engineering. Inspired by the folk music he heard, Fred took up the banjo and guitar. His interest in woodworking led him to begin designing and building guitars and a lute.

After college, Fred Gosbee moved to the coast and became a shipfitter at Bath Ironworks. He had always been drawn to the music of sailors and seamen, and it was here that he began writing his own songs. He became involved with local theater and musical organizations. Adding to his versatility as a vocalist, he sang with madrigal groups, oratorio, musical theater, Gilbert and Sullivan and barbershop groups. Combining his theatrical experience with his knowledge of folk music, he arranged, composed, and performed incidental music for a production of "A Spoon River Anthology." The resulting sound tapestry included 56 pieces of music with songs, instrumentals and new works for voices, guitars, banjo and fiddle performed live for each show. This production led to the formation of a performing folk trio, and back to the traditional music of his childhood. He also began performing his own songs, two of which were used in the WTBS-Atlanta/Turner Broadcasting Corp. series "Portrait of America" segment about Maine.

His works have since been recorded by other artists and have garnered him invitations to international music festivals including the International Festival of the Sea in England. With Castlebay, he has recorded five albums and has toured the East coast of the US and the British Isles. He currently performs with vocalist /Celtic harpist Julia Lane singing and playing classic and 12-string guitar, 5-string viola, and woodwinds. Together, they have composed a suite for quintet of folk instruments inspired by a tour of the Scottish island of Skye. They have been commissioned by the Galloway Scotland Arts council to compose a similar suite for that region. The duo also maintains a commitment to cultural education and provides folklore and music programs for schools, museum, libraries and Elderhostels. When he is not touring, Fred Gosbee engineers and produces recordings and designs and builds Celtic harps.

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