From the spirit of a traveler, a wanderer, a woman whose journeys have taken her over much of the world, come tunes infused with life. Annie’s music. Enter the fiddle and Celtic harp, bringing their gifts of mystery. Recorders and viola da gamba bless the tunes with echoes of an ancient world, and in the next moment, swing guitar and brushes set the beat. The journey continues… Music by Ann Mayo Muir Arranged & Performed by Ensemble Galilei Produced by Bob Dawson & Carolyn Surrick at Bias Studios ©(p) 2009 Ann Mayo Muir Music, BMI • www.AnnMayoMuir.com Single Speed Glass Mastered at Oasis CD Ann Mayo Muir has had a long and lustrous career as a recording artist and touring musician, most often appearing in concert with Ed Trickett and me. In those years she distinguished herself as singer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. When we stopped performing in 2000, she had just taken up the fiddle, to which she has since added Hardanger Fiddle and Nyckelharpa, studying under some of the finest fiddlers in the Celtic tradition. And she’s been composing - stunning instrumental music - and quite different than what you’ve heard in our work together. Some pieces feel American, many have a European twist and a couple have run off with the Gypsies. Ensemble Galilei, a highly respected Celtic/Early Music Crossover group, arranged the pieces, and it is a sinuous, snappy, energetic delight of interpretation, with many shifts and surprises, happily suited to Annie’s unique vision. With so many tastes and textures, this CD is a feast for the musical gourmet. ~ Gordon Bok (Bok, Muir & Trickett) Music is my way. It calls me, haunts me, nourishes and comforts me. Music is magic, irresistible. It is life! While creating these tunes has been one of my life’s great pleasures, hearing them arranged and played by Ensemble Galilei is truly sublime! My heart has been heard. Now, what a joy to share the music with you! ~ Ann Mayo Muir Tune Notes ~ 1. Twist The Devil’s Tail ~ This tune was inspired by the many wonderful hours spent in Ireland learning the fiddle from Martin Hayes, a master and a friend. For the song title, I thank my longtime friend and music companion, Gordon Bok. 2. Lament for Andrea ~ Andrea was lovely and talented and my husband’s oldest daughter. Her Papa’s right hand on a sailing boat, she could read his mind as he could read hers. Quiet and shy, she loved books and cooking, teaching me her secrets when we were together. She would always help her friends and I am happy that I was one of them. Andrea died too soon, at 44 years of age. 3. Fire Up The Kiln, Love ~ Thanks to friend and author, Robin Rice, for this provocative title. There’s nothing like having a kiln loaded with bisque-ware (pottery), ready to be fired. All the work of throwing, trimming, carving, decorating, and finally glazing leads to this last step, filled with hope and uncertainty, for there is no real knowing what will be born through the fire! 4. Merlin’s Forest ~ They say the legendary wizard, Merlin, retired in Northern France where he allowed himself to be wooed into an enchanted circle by a beautiful Fairy. They fell deeply in love and spent their remaining days together in La Foret de Broceliante. 5. Winter’s Blanket ~ A tune of comfort for the human spirit as it struggles on toward spring. I dedicate this to my daughter, Christina, whose sensitivity and artistry often guide me. It is thanks to her vision and love that this CD bloomed. 6. The Deepening ~ Moving toward a quiet center. 7. Hanko Panko ~ One summer, on the southwest coast of Finland, my husband and I spent four blissful days in the town of Hanko Panko watching the national sailboat races and making some special new friends. While relaxing in the glow of another lovely sunset, with shades of rose and purple dancing in the water’s reflection, I invited the harbor spirits to send me a tune that I could take away with me as a reminder of our magical visit. This tune arrived with the night. 8. Connie’s Garden ~ Thanks to Connie, my daughter-in-law, I began attending Alasdair Fraser’s marvelous Scottish Music camp, Valley of the Moon, in Santa Cruz, CA. It was there that I first heard Alasdair’s magnificent playing and fell in love with the fiddle. I am so grateful to Connie for planting that seed. In return, here’s a musical wish for her to have more time to enjoy her own garden! ~ ~ Martin and the Fox ~ This is a bow to one of my favorite fiddlers, Martin Hayes, and to one of my favorite books, The Little Prince. 9. Les Souvenirs et Les Regrets ~ Memories and regrets, something we all know and think about, especially at the turning of the year. 10. Hear My Heart ~ Writing this tune comforted me through a sleepless night when I feared that someone very dear to me might not make it to the morning. 11. Mother To Son ~ For Howie, who has gifted me with his valuable listening, and who is so worth listening to in return. 12. A Love Song For My Sailor ~ This was written for my husband, Claude Graf, the designer and builder of our beautiful Chebec sailboat. We spent many summers sailing along the east coast of the United States as well as around the Mediterranean. He is one of the world’s great sailors who did it the old fashioned way, by stars and compass. The melody says, “I LOVE YOU.” 13. Gypsy’s Bow ~ Once while stopping at the border between Slovakia and Poland, my husband and I spent some time listening to a handsome young gypsy play his fiddle. Dressed in his best dark-blue suit, he played with all his heart, accompanied by two elderly gentlemen on guitars. We couldn’t take our eyes off him, and yet none of the other people waiting in the line of cars appeared to give his music any notice. As he drew close to us we saw that his bow was in ruins. The tightening mechanism was broken and the hairs were plastered to the wood. It was amazing that he could play so well with such a terrible bow! I couldn’t wait to give him my extra student bow and a set of new strings. His eyes sparkled with gratitude and I was thrilled to think that my bow would now play his music and live the kind of gypsy life that I would never know. When this tune popped into my head a few weeks later, I had no doubt that it was a gift from the gypsy! Thanks ~ Thanks to my family and friends for holding me with Love, especially my husband Claude, my best friend, who sets my heart sailing. Thanks too for music and musicians, particularly my dear partners, Gordon Bok and Ed Trickett, my inspiring teachers, Alasdair Fraser and Martin Hayes, and my darling daughter, Christina, who sees me like no other. Thanks to these wonderful musicians for pouring Original Melodic Instrumentals themselves into the music and giving wings to these tunes. Special thanks to Carolyn Surrick for her adventurous spirit, whipping this project into shape like a marvelous chef making the lightest Belgian waffles and the fluffiest, buttery mashed potatoes! ~ C.G.Muir Credits ~ Arrangements by the members of Ensemble Galilei, except “Hear My Heart,” arranged by C.A.Surrick ~ www.EGMusic.com Hanneke Cassel ~ fiddle Danny Mallon ~ percussion Kathryn Montoya ~ recorders, oboes, whistles Sue Richards ~ Celtic harp Carolyn Anderson Surrick ~ viola da gamba with Tom Mitchell ~ guitar, mandolin Music by Ann Mayo Muir Conceived and Pre-produced by Christina Muir Recorded by Bob Dawson Mixing & Editing by Bob Dawson & Carolyn Surrick “Winter’s Blanket” Recorded by Jim Robeson Produced by Bob Dawson & Carolyn Surrick Recording, Mixing & Editing at Bias Studios, Springfield, VA Mastered by Charlie Pilzer at Airshow, Takoma Park, MD Executive Producer ~ Ann Mayo Muir Cover Photo by A.M.Muir – Malta, off the coast of Italy Photo of Ann by Sandy Paton of Folk-Legacy.com Tune Notes by Ann Mayo Muir & Christina Muir Graphic Design by Christina Muir & Joanne Juskus All right reserved. 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