Hazel Grove

Sue Richards | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 28, 1995)
• Original Release Date: March 20, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Maggie's Music
• ASIN: B000003JMA
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,825 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUE RICHARDS, CELTIC HARP CHAMPION!, January 9, 2010

By 

Philly Gal (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hazel Grove (Audio CD)

EXCELLENT, SWEET MUSIC! Here is Sue Richards, the U.S. Scottish Harp Champion, on Celtic harp accompanied by fiddle, flute, button accordion, guitar & viola da gamba in tunes from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Why didn't we hear this beautiful disc until now? It has been available for more than 10 years - we are such losers...

Richards' harp playing is the most mellow and graceful we have ever heard. Combined with the simple traditional instruments that flesh out Celtic music in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, these traditional aires are absolutely delightful. Her fiddler in this album, Calum MacKinnon, spices the sound with incredibly nimble fiddlin' - our bluegrass fiddlers can't come close to this fellow!

All pieces are arranged by Ms. Richards. She is accompanied by 9 other artists who play at least 12 instruments. We thought you'd like to know who they are and what they play:
Karen Ashbrook: Flute, pennywhistle, and hammered dulcimer
Myron Bretholz: Bodhran
Marsha Diehl: Recorders
Calum MacKinnon: Fiddle
Billy McComiskey: Button accordion
Connie McKenna: Classical guitar
Charlie Pilzer: Piano
John Quigg: Scottish snare drum
Carolyn Surrick: Viola da gamba

Our favorite on this album is a 2-tune medley "Tip O'Neill/Washington Hornpipe" (track 12) both toe-tapping original compositions by Ms. Richards. All of this music is a great backdrop for a maudlin afternoon, even if you're not the emotional type. If you need a quick pick-me-up, Track 7 will do the job - a lighthearted Highland pipe jig vigorously plucked on the harp. There's a piece here for just about every mood, all tied together with the elegant, celestial sound of the harp.
ENJOY!

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done., April 2, 2011

By 

Eliezer Pennywhistler (Trenton, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hazel Grove (Audio CD)

This sort of album requires several different kinds of skills to come together ... and they do here.

Sue Richards is a skilled harpist ... and on this album she plays with feeling and with verve.

She also knows how to collaborate with a variety of musicians playing a variety of instruments. You play a harp differently with a flute than you do with a viola da gamba. And you play differently when you are playing melody than when you accompany someone else's lead. Sue understands that perfectly.

She also seems to bring out the best in the other musicians. That's a different skill as well.

She has sequenced the tunes in a satisfying whole.

And, on top of that, it is well recorded.

I give this four stars (and not five) because I do not get a sense that Sue OWNS the tunes. By this I mean she plays them the "standard" way - more or less as they come off the page. She has given consideration to the proper tempo for each tune, but I never get a sense that she has spent blood sweat and tears working out harmonies, note changes, and ornaments specific to each tune.

Don't let that dissuade you from buying this excellent album ... and giving it many listens in order to suss out the many delights in the playing and in the music itself.

If I could, I would have given it 4.5 stars.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hazel grove, June 21, 2002

By 

therese baird (nj) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hazel Grove (Audio CD)

this album has an unbeleivable quality both in the harp as well as the variety of the selections. it is very easy to listen to.