Customer Reviews

France: L'epinette Des Vosges

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Having taken considerable guff for my collection of the Carter Family 78 rpm records, I thought it high time to defend the zither, or to you fanciers of the Latinate, dulcimer. But being petty only in practice and intent, I have a higher purpose. I want to make a big deal over Radio France's series under the Ocora label. And a moment of silence, with piano in mind, for Alicia de Larrocha. I saw her first at Alice Tully Hall in NYC. She played encore for two hours until the union blackened the hall. Our palms were bleeding from applause. Requiet en Pacem.

This recording is not available on Amazon.com. I got it on Amazon.fr You might still sample this recording here. The three musicians are accomplished, be it song, arpeggio fingering or chord manipulation.

The zither goes back to the 16th century, and is Northern European. To you Swedes, think hommel. So in France, we are in the north-east where river and sea traffic link us with the other homes of l'epinette. From here, it made its way to America, the Ozarks and the Appalacian south. The use of frets for some of the strings sets up the ability for both the melody and for the drone, which can be played up or down with some continuity.

The recording has a high sound quality. As I said, there may be some interested in this Ocora label. The music is from all over the world. Radio France brings us many exotics, compared to this local recording. They sell out quickly. I wanted a particular Vietnamese program as only Radio France would bother to do, but it was gone in just a few months from release this January. Amazon.fr has pages to browse.