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Under the Dogwoods by Steven K. Smith
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fave it Gentle | Traditional
20 tracks | 61 minutes
Released Nov 2005
on Steven K. Smith
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for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.
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- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:10 Under the Dogwoods BUY MP3 02:10 Under the Dogwoods "GIFT MP3" 02:10 Under the Dogwoods
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 03:01 Blind Mary BUY MP3 03:01 Blind Mary "GIFT MP3" 03:01 Blind Mary
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:39 Spring in Russia BUY MP3 02:39 Spring in Russia "GIFT MP3" 02:39 Spring in Russia
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 03:45 Pavanne d'Angleterre BUY MP3 03:45 Pavanne d'Angleterre "GIFT MP3" 03:45 Pavanne d'Angleterre
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 05:40 Celtic Knots BUY MP3 05:40 Celtic Knots "GIFT MP3" 05:40 Celtic Knots
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:03 Dancing 'til the Morning BUY MP3 02:03 Dancing 'til the Morning "GIFT MP3" 02:03 Dancing 'til the Morning
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:11 Fughetta by Pachelbel BUY MP3 01:11 Fughetta by Pachelbel "GIFT MP3" 01:11 Fughetta by Pachelbel
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 03:30 God Rest ye Merrie Gentlemen BUY MP3 03:30 God Rest ye Merrie Gentlemen "GIFT MP3" 03:30 God Rest ye Merrie Gentlemen
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:54 Forever More BUY MP3 02:54 Forever More "GIFT MP3" 02:54 Forever More
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:58 Coleraine Jig BUY MP3 02:58 Coleraine Jig "GIFT MP3" 02:58 Coleraine Jig
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:47 Memories of Silence BUY MP3 02:47 Memories of Silence "GIFT MP3" 02:47 Memories of Silence
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:14 The Wind that Shakes the Barley BUY MP3 02:14 The Wind that Shakes the Barley "GIFT MP3" 02:14 The Wind that Shakes the Barley
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:47 What if I Never Speed BUY MP3 02:47 What if I Never Speed "GIFT MP3" 02:47 What if I Never Speed
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 05:08 Eastern Mist BUY MP3 05:08 Eastern Mist "GIFT MP3" 05:08 Eastern Mist
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 03:20 The Waters of Holland FREE 03:20 The Waters of Holland "GIFT MP3" 03:20 The Waters of Holland
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 04:27 Nonesuch BUY MP3 04:27 Nonesuch "GIFT MP3" 04:27 Nonesuch
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 03:10 Now I Remember BUY MP3 03:10 Now I Remember "GIFT MP3" 03:10 Now I Remember
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:52 The Touchstone BUY MP3 02:52 The Touchstone "GIFT MP3" 02:52 The Touchstone
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:47 Rose Red BUY MP3 02:47 Rose Red "GIFT MP3" 02:47 Rose Red
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:34 Saint Martin's BUY MP3 02:34 Saint Martin's "GIFT MP3" 02:34 Saint Martin's
Awesome deal! When you buy this album for $8.88 you get 20 tracks for less than $0.44 each
Awesome deal! When you buy this album for $7.77 you get 20 tracks for less than $0.39 each
Renaissance music on the mountain dulcimer with a touch of electricity woven into the warp.
Bio / Background
Steven K. Smith is an instrumentalist on the Mountain Dulcimer who has been learning playing, composing and teaching since 1983. His introduction to the dulcimer occurred a few years earlier, however, in 1977, when his brother Dave had bought one at a craft fair. It had been painted bicentennial red, white and blue, complete with star-shaped sound holes.
“I guess he got a good deal on it,” Steve recalls. He was entranced by the sound and deceptive simplicity of the instrument, but at the time he was working toward an Engineering degree and didn’t think he had the time to learn a new instrument. None the less, about a year later he saw dulcimer kit at another craft fair and bought it.
Over the next year or so, Steve admits that he did, “a really bad job” of building that instrument. It was good enough to get him hooked, though. At the time he didn’t have anyone else nearby to compare it to, and so was blissfully unaware of its short comings.
↓ more ↓When the music didn’t sound quite right, he assumed he needed more practice.
In 1984 he attended a gathering in Germantown OH, where Jerry Rockwell was teaching. At the open stage on Saturday night Steve made his first public performance as a dulcimer player. He played the Michael Cross tune, “The Scotsman’s Kilt” and one of his own compositions called “Song for Albert.” Afterwards Jerry commented that he thought his piece was, “very nice, but you have to DO something about that dulcimer you play.
He eventually got better instruments and got better at playing them. He won the grand prize at the Bob Evans Farm contest in 1986, and was the Mid-East regional champion on the mountain dulcimer in 1990. His first cassette release was in 1991, and “Under the Dogwoods” is his fourth CD release.
Although the Mountain Dulcimer is usually thought of as an Appalachian folk instrument, Steve doesn’t limit himself to that genre. The pieces on this album come largely from the musical environment of the Ohio Renaissance Festival, where Steve has been a regular performer since 1992. English country dance tunes and Irish harp tunes are mixed with some of Steve’s original compositions, and a couple of improvisations. This is not a period reenactment album, however. While Steve keeps in mind the tradition of the music, he adds his own stamp on it as well. He’s added some gentle synthesizer backup for several of the tunes, and he’s ably assisted by Jerry Rockwell on dulcimer and guitar on some of the pieces as well. Jerry did the production work for the album, and while Steve says he “really cracked the whip over me,” he also says, “it paid off in the music.” In the end, that’s where it counts.
↑ less ↑Average Customer Review: 5
Lovely, Gentle Dulcimer TunesIdaho wrote on January 23, 2008
I find pure joy in listening to this album. Some of the tracks are tunes have a long history back to the 16th and 17th centuries as English Country Dances. These include Blind Mary, The Waters of Holland, Nonesuch, and The Touchstone.





