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Beyond the Shore
Deby Benton Grosjean
Navigating Traditional and Uncharted Celtic Fiddle
Tunes
Deby Benton Grosjean, fiddle
William Coulter, steel string guitar
Chris Caswell, Highland bagpipes, bodhrán, wire-strung Celtic
harp, bones, sticks
Paul Machlis, piano, keyboards
Barry Phillips, cello
Dennis Patterson, percussion (snare & bass drum, congas, finger
cymbals, suspended cymbals, tom-toms)
Lars Johannesson, flute
Shelley Phillips, Celtic harp, English horn
Jack Gilder, concertina
Jay Salter, Scottish cauldwind bagpipes
Stan Poplin, string bass
Produced by William Coulter
Music Clips follow Reviews below
Deby is known for impressing audiences in her live performances with
William Coulter, Alasdair Fraser and others and it's no wonder, when
you learn that she is a regular teacher at Alasdair Fraser's Valley
of the Moon Scottish Fiddle Camp and has won the The Pacific Coast
Scottish Fiddle Championship several times running and holds the Clan
Donachaidh 1st Place Trophy... On this recording she shows a wide
range of feeling and style from Irish, Scottish and even a touch of
jazz.
I first heard of this recording by accident when I stumbled into
a mixing session in the studio where, late at night with the lights
down, William Coulter and Deby were mixing Maol Donáidh (The
Fisherman's Call to the Seals), a haunting slow air on Highland Pipes
and fiddle, and I was mesmerized. The hair stood up on my neck. William
and Deby didn't seem to mind my intrusion, and the more I heard, the
more mesmerized I became. This is a remarkable, eclectic, gentle and
evocative nautically-themed recording by Deby that will make you laugh
and may give you the same chills it gave me.
- Todd Denman
Reviews:
"... expert fiddler and her crew bring to life the marine sanctuary
through their traditional and creative Celtic music. It will touch
your heart and dance your soul. A must to have."
- Pattie Mills, Connection Magazine
"Her medley of jigs is framed by mysterious wave-like rhythms on fiddle,
with deep undercurrents from cello. Add to that beginning such atmospherics
as the groaning of a buoy and the tintinabulation of a ship's bell, and
suddenly you have a musical tableau evoking the mystery and danger of a
rolling ocean on a fog-bound coast. This is further explored by fiddle,
cello and the guitar throughout the three jigs with recurring motifs of
unpredictable rhythm and unsettled melodic phrasing. The Celtic mist here
is of an entirely different order that what is heard on too many albums
these days. This is sea fog, and one is delighted to have their ears opened
to it! Two of the three jigs in this set are traditional, and the third
is Grosjean's. I'm reminded here and elsewhere on this album of William
Jackson, with his ability to not only select great tunes, and to imprint
them with his own strong musical stamp, but to also compose with a palate
of voices and techniques found in orchestral music."
- Jay Salter, Scottish Musician, Santa Cruz, CA
"This collection of sea-related tunes will really bring you
to and immerse you in the sea itself. Deby Benton Grosjean was inspired
by the sea that she loves so dearly, the Monterey Bay. Her expert
fiddle playing, arranging and compositional skills enliven Celtic
sea themes. You'll hear Gaelic airs of farewell as well as her own
strong compositions such as "Grey Whales in the Monterey Bay."
Music Clips:
8 bit, 11.025 mHz, about 15 seconds long. They should automatically
play in your browser, or save them to play in a music application.
Mac users can play these files in iTunes or QuickTime Player. The
files are quite small (200k) and should download quickly.
1. The Mermaid
This slow Scottish air evokes the image of a barren, rocky cove
with dark waters lapping at its shore. On a lone outcrop sits a
lovely mermaid, looking seaward, lost in reflective thought as deep
as the ocean. In Brian Froud and Alan Lee's illustrated book Faeries,
mermaids enchant human lovers with their songs. Is this mesmerizing
piece of human or merfolk origin? (Celtic harp, wooden flute, English
horn, fiddle)
2. The Ships Are Sailing / Da Full Rigged Ship
The first reel comes from Ireland, and the second from the Shetland
Islands. In an attempt to explore new musical latitudes with these
tunes, we improvised as we recorded, reeling in bigger ideas with
every hopeful cast. (guitar, congas, fiddle)
3. The Female Sailor / Crabs in the Skillet / The Gray Foam on Stormy
Seas (c1996 D. Benton Grosjean/Spiral Scrolls Music BMI)
The first jig in this medley, which goes by many names, is a colonial
American piece that I have played for contra dances. My husband
and I chartered a sailboat down in San Diego in an attempt to glimpse
the women sailing America3 during the '95 America's Cup races. These
capable women won the hearts of many sailors with their great skill.
What an exciting time! The second tune in this medley is an Irish
jig I caught while fishing on the internet. I added sextuplets and
octaves to this arrangement which made it a slippery catch. The
last piece in this medley is my original slip jig (9/8 meter). Several
techniques create the imagery of the unpredictable rocking of the
ocean's rolling waves. Polyrhythms are introduced by the guitar's
harmonics (3/4 within a 6/8 meter) and then reflected in the following
stringendo (compressed rhythm) passage of the fiddle. The erratic
imagery is further reinforced by my uneven phrasing in the last
piece of the medley. The deep, agile cello lines create a stirring
undercurrent and the airy ponticello (bowing lightly near the bridge)
and harmonics whip up the froth in the foam. (Mile Buoy of Santa
Cruz, ship's bell, fiddle, violoncello, guitar)
4. The Sandpiper (c1994 D. Benton Grosjean
Spiral Scrolls Music BMI)
This 6/8 pipe march took form while I was walking along Sunset Beach
and watching the comical shore birds. I invent melodies in my head
as I breathe the briny air of the Pacific and chuckle at the sandpipers
racing in and out with the waves. They poke the wet sand with their
beaks and in a blur of fast feet, they run away squawking. The Sandpiper
marched its way to a second place award in its category at the 1996
National Scottish Fiddle Composition Competition. (bass and snare
drum, fiddles, Scottish cauldwind pipes)
5. My Love Has Gone to Sea
6. The Flowing Tide / The Gypsies / The Roaring Hornpipe
7. The Bonnie Ship the Diamond
8. Gray Whales in the Monterey Bay (c1996 D. Benton Grosjean BMI)
9. Maol Donáidh (The Fisherman's Call to the Seals)
10. Rolling Waves / Cook in the Galley
11. Crossing to Erin
12. Spootiskerry (c1980 Ian Burns)
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