Customer Reviews

In My Hands

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If there was ever an artist that put her heart and soul into her music, it's Natalie MacMaster. Her latest release, "In My Hands" is filled with a presence, a life force if you will, that has made this one of the finest cd's ever to come into my collection. Natalie has long been known as one of the best Cape Breton style fiddlers around, and this disc showcases why.

One of the things that makes this disc so good is the fact that Natalie seamlessly brings together traditional and modern sounds, as well as drawing from a variety of different musical styles. The title track may shock some traditionalists, with it's lush musical landscapes and modern instrumentation that could easily be found on a lot of New Age or Alternative discs. The track also marks the first time that Natalie lends her voice to one of her songs, and I really look forward to hearing more of this on her future releases.

The only other song on the disc that contains a vocal is "Get Me Through December" where Alison Krauss lends her voice to this beautiful ballad about a woman looking for the faith and spirit to love again. The amazing thing about the rest of the tracks on this disc is that they bring as much emotion, without the luxury of using words to express them. For example, the beautifully played lonesome fiddle sound of "Blue Bonnets Over The Border" cuts directly into your soul with a sense of loss and sadness that has to be felt to properly explain it.

"Flamenco Fling" will make you want to get up and dance with it's mixture of Natalie's fiddle playing and the flamenco guitars and horns. "Space Ceilidh" brings together a modern drum beat and electrical samples that sound at times like something directly out of Walt Disney World's Main Street Electrical Parade, a purely magical tune.

Country fiddle virtuoso Mark O'Conner joins Natalie on a version of his own "Olympic Reel" and let me just say the results are phenomenal. I've long been a fan of Mark O'Conner, and this track simply bring together two of the best fiddle players in the world. It simply does not get any better than this!

"In My Hands" is an album that will mesmerize you as you listen to it. It is rare for me to find a disc that will take you so well through a wide range of human emotions. To me, the best music has always had a very cinematic, larger than life feel to it, and this disc is like the soundtrack to our lives, taking us from our highs to our lows and back again. As the title track says, "through your voice I hear your stories, and in these hands they become my own. And the old times and old memories, called to life beneath my bow." That pretty much sums up Natalie MacMaster's music, as her bow and fiddle can speak volumes. Do yourself a favor and buy this disc, you won't regret it!

Natalie MacMaster is a young, spirited fiddler who has won numerous awards for her work, including "Female Artist Of The Year" at the 1999 East Coast Music Awards. This album is easily her best work yet, including elements ranging from Latin to Celtic, but always expressed within the context of her traditional Cape Breton musical upbringing. Special guests include Alison Krauss, who lends her gorgeous vocals to the Gordie Sampson/Fred Lavery composition, "Get Me Through December." This is an entirely original and highly enjoyable work that will surprise and delight music fans of all types.

This CD is well worth purchasing just to have "Blue Bonnets Over the Border" and "Get Me Through December". Both airs (slow fiddle tunes) are incredibly beautiful and haunting. I have heard the 18th Century air "Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife" played by many different Scottish fiddlers in its traditional form, including by Natalie MacMaster in concert, and it always takes my breath away. Natalie interprets that air on this CD as "Get Me Through December" with the assistance of Alison Krauss on vocals. The lyrics and Krauss' voice complement perfectly Natalie's fiddle to capture the mood of the air without slavishly following the tune. Niel Gow would have been proud.

There are some traditional jigs and reels, as well as the aforementioned airs, on this CD, but most of the tunes are "fusion" type recordings with non-Celtic genres of music. Some of the tunes will grow on you, and some won't, but Natalie's playing is impressive, as always, on everything.

is being at one of her concerts. MacMaster, who is still well shy of her 30th birthday, is an undeniable master (ok, mistress) of the fiddle. No one puts more of herself into their music, no one can blend what you would think are clashing styles and make them work the way she can. I mean, mixing celtic fiddle and flamenco of all things...but it WORKS and its great! Neither will those who love the traditonal celtic music with which MacMaster made her reputation feel slighted. The beautiful "Blue Bonnets Over the Border" "Flora MacDonald" and lively "Gramma"(plus others)are here for you. If you have never listened to Natalie MacMaster you are cheating yourself of some real pleasure and if you get the chance to actually see her perform some of these tunes live, be sure not to miss it. I just can't figure out how she has escaped wider notice by US audicences.....

Natalie MacMaster is a super artist! It is rare that I like every song on a CD, but "In My Hands" is that rare case. Each composition talks to you and Natalie has a quality that makes her music project with feeling to your inner conscience. I am going to look forward to a concert at the first opportunity!

I saw this lady in concert and I became an instant fan! Her talent and energy are boundless. She is truly gifted with her awsome talent. I can listen to her CD's and my mood instantly shifts back to the positive. Her ability to blend the tunes of days gone by with a modern twist is pure genius. Her music is very emotional.

This is my very first MacMaster CD, I overheard her tunes on a public radio station, and I had to have it. Her fiddling in 'In My Hands' is energizing yet calming, traditional yet anew, and musculine yet soft. I am looking forward to listening to her musics for a long time.

I enjoy Natalie's playing and have all of her albums. I eagerly anticipated this album when it came out. Unfortunately I was sorely disappointed with the overall package. This over-produced album tries to demonstrate to the listener that Natalie is capable of more than "just" Cape Breton-style fiddle music, and that she is in fact capable of authentically playing other styles. Just as one speaking another language, though, Natalie's Cape Breton accent is audible in all of the tunes she plays, making them sound odd and unbalanced. I think that the producers knew this at the time, because often the tracks are way over-produced, as if to make you not notice the fiddle! As for her whisper-singing, this half-hearted jaunt into a quasi-pop genre is an utter failiure, although to hear her sing along with the tune does salvage it to some degree. The best tracks, in my opinion, are the more simple tracks, most notably the tracks featuring Sharron Shannon (accordion goddess) and Alison Krauss (bluegrass goddess), where the more understated sounds compliment and support the fiddle in a much more relaxed manner.
It is worth puchasing the album for those tracks alone, but beware of "flamenco fling" and "olympic reel", which make Natalie look less than competent.

Bought it for "In My Hands" but I'm playing it incessantly for the the more traditional tunes as well.

This is bright beautiful music!

The first time I heard this CD was at one of the "listen to new music" spots... I was instantly hooked. The title cut alone is worth the price of the CD. But Natalie doesn't stop there. Her repertoire is varied, changingmoods from one to another. But through it all,her virtuosity shines like the moon on Cape Breton's shores. If you buy only one Celtic CD this year, this is the one!!