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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soul-wretchingly Beautiful, December 15, 1999
This review is from: Deep Heart's Core (Audio CD)
I first met Mlle. Price at the Glen Helen Rennaissance Faire in 1991. Walking the grounds, I would often stop and listen to the "local" musicians play their magic. When I came across Kate, I was literally blown over...I've always loved the sounds a hammer dulcimer makes, and here was someone playing more than just notes, more than music even: it was as if the Heavens dropped an Angel of Light down amongst the commoners and she was bewitching us with her melodic charms. I purchased what I thought was her premier c/d "Belaich An' Dorain", (though I could be wrong), and played it to death. At a later festival, I met her again and had to tell her how much I appreciated her debut effort. She thanked me and told me she had another, "The Time Between" At first I was sceptical, but not only was it beautiful, she had outdown her previous work thrice-fold. Years later, much to my surprise and delight, she had, to my knowledge, finally go commercial, by having her latest (?) work "Deep Heart's Core" for sale at major music shops. Again I was hesitant--can lightening strike twice? The answer is yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Whether dulcimer solo or vocals w/background, she blows away what unworthys would define as "New Age". People will try to compare her to Loreena McKennitt, Enya, even Clannad; True they are all gifted artists in their own way and I greatly enjoy their music also: But if I only had one to listen to, it would be Kate Price. I eagerly await her next work with great anticipation and not a little impatience-- Try her, you will NOT be disappointed!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two continents and several centuries influence this artist, May 23, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Deep Heart's Core (Audio CD)
If you watched the Opening Ceremonies of the Nagano Olympics, you heard a snatch of Sonatina Montenegro. If you attend the Novato and the Agoura/Glen Helen Renaissance Faires, you may have heard her, and not even known you were passing by a woman who has her own quiet listserv and a worldwide following. This album refreshes your soul, and takes you places you might wish to seek out in your travels. I started following Kate Price when *I* stumbled across her playing hammer and fretted dulcimer at an Agoura Faire in the early 1980s. I have her out-of-print cassette-only recordings. At that time she went by Kathryn Jehane Price, and I was won over by her lovely alto and her absorption in her music. I first heard Labyrinth live, when this album was about to be released. I was utterly lost in this romance and the romantic setting for the pledging of troth between a husband and wife. Kate mastered Renaissance and Celtic styles early in her busking career. While some folk have called her a Loreena-wannabe, it is without the knowledge that she is NOT new on the music scene, and that some managers have attempted to latch on to a passing similarity of starting points. Kate is strongly Californian, and is influenced by the Spanish past of this place: Loreena went to Arabic countries, Kate explores Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, as well as the Celtic lands. To quote another reviewer of both women's music, Jay Freeman: "If McKennitt's muses are sidhe and selkie, then Price's are nymph and dryad." Did you think that all lullabies are for babies? She has a lover's lullaby to his beloved in Rest, Sweet Nymph. If you think all Celtic music is too close to "newage" for you, you're listening to the worng artists--you are not going to be allowed to sit still through her music, you are asked to get up and dance--step lively, now! When she breaks into song, you might get a bit of a rest, but the music there will merely call you to dance at a slower pace. I rejoice! d to see The Time Between, which preceeded this album, in the stores. I helped a lot of folk find her music, and I'm pleased to say that many more folk than before await her third CD, soon to be finished and released on the Higher Octave label. Should you go to the Novato Faire in 1998, look for a slender blonde on a hay bale in a wider part of the path in the jewelers' row. She'll take you away from the dust and the heat to a cooler, sweeter, shadier place and time...and afterwards, you'll have this album to remind you of that time. If you get a chance, tell her WHERE you bought her music, and how you came to hear of it.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Luscious!, November 29, 2002
This review is from: Deep Heart's Core (Audio CD)
These dreamy, heartfelt vocals with hammered dulcimer and other inventive instrumental accompaniments draw from Celtic and world music traditions. In the program notes, Kate explains, "... to me the core of one's deep heart is not just a place to carry one's own river of peace. It is also the place from which we bring the beauty of our essence into being." And that is exactly what she has done here. The overall tone of this release is similar to "The Isle of Dreaming" but somewhat gentler. It contains, in particular, two stunningly beautiful songs that tug at the heartstrings and sooth the soul. "Place of Spirit" is a winsome duet for oboe and viola, with piano and cello accompaniment, while "So Ghostly Then the Girl Came In" is a haunting poem set to music that sounds like it evolved from the same creative niche as "Place of Spirit." Listen to the wistful weavings of melody and harmony in these compositions, and if you sing or play an instrument and feel comfortable improvising, join in. There's room, and to be a part of such music as this, even if only in your living room, allows you to truly appreciate it in all its richness and subtlety. Kate Price's 1993 release, "The Time Between" by Priceless Productions, is hard to find, but shows the roots of her style and is very nice in its own right. Try used CD websites, or just search the web with a good browser. If you like "Deep Heart's Core", you might also enjoy the creatively arranged vocals and hammered dulcimer of Trapezoid in "Moon Run" and John McCutcheon in "Step by Step", the vocal and multi-instrumental compositions of Lydia McCauley, and the early work of Loreena McKennitt.
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