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The Bright Field

By Paul Machlis


  1. Wintersuite
  2. Buchanan Mist
  3. The Promenade
  4. Dancing Boots
  5. The Selkie
  6. The Early Morn
  7. Freddie’s Tune
  8. Eamonn A Chnuic
  9. Along The Western Shore
  10. Pennan Den
  11. The Bright Field

Two comments

Re: The Bright Field

A lovely listening (as opposed to dancing) CD featuring Paul Machlis on piano and keyboards; Alasdair Fraser on violin and viola; Barry Phillips on cello and Bill Coulter on guitar. Made to just sit back with your favorite beverage and contemplate the beauty of the music.

I only ran across this CD because we started playing Along the Western Shore here locally, and I looked on Youtube and found this album. First published in 1995, it’s a real sleeper. I have been listening to it constantly since I got it last week.

Eight of the entries are composed by Paul Machlis, and I do mean entries because some of these are multiple tunes. I searched on the internet for discography and found Paul Machlis’ Tune Book available for download:

Year’s Turning: New Tunes in the Folk Tradition, for Fiddle and Other Instruments
http://www.paulmachlis.com/p/music_19.html (click on the link to generate the .pdf)

The tune book includes mostly Paul’s compositions, but he includes several, including those on this CD.

Turns out these are not set names, but rather the name of the first tune, where the others are just noted as “(2nd tune)” and so on. For example, Along the Western Shore has a second tune that is a 3-part jig! How would I ever post it here to this sight?

Re: The Bright Field

So here’s the listing of the entries:

1. Wintersuite (3-part Gmin reel)/2nd tune (21 bar Fmaj air?)/3rd tune (24-bar 2/4 reel in Amin [Ddor?])

2. Buchanan Mist (Fmaj air)

3. The Promenade (Gmaj strathspey)/2nd tune (Ador strathspey)

4. Dancing Boots (3-part Emin reel)

5. The Selkie (Gdor waltz)/2nd tune (Gmin slip jig)

6. The Early Morn (crooked Amin reel)/2nd tune (Dmyx reel)

7. Freddie’s Tune - called Shetland Air on the CD (and the Tune Book), it “comes from a setting by Violet Tulloch on a recording by Tom Anderson and Aly Bain of a tune by the 18th century Unst fiddler Fredamann Stickle.” [review by Alan Brown, folkmusic.net]

8. Eamonn A Chnuic (3/4 time Gmaj air)/2nd tune (Gmaj slow jig)

9. Along The Western Shore (24-bar strathspay/air?)/2nd tune (3-part jig)

10. Pennan Den (Dmin slow strathspey)

11. The Bright Field (Fmaj waltz)

It is hard to choose a favorite here; however the arrangement for Pennan Den with keyboards, fiddle and cello is a clear contender:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2dhQ8O7ju8