Mark O'Connor originally made his name as a Nashville session musician playing the fiddle but gave that up to pursue a career as a violinist. Of course, the fiddle and the violin are actually the same instrument but the style of playing is very different. Mark teamed up with Edgar Mayer (bass) and Yo-Yo Ma (cello) to record this album. The album is mainly instrumental, but there are two songs, one featuring James Taylor (Hard times come again no more, on which he also plays guitar) and the other featuring Alison Krauss (Slumber my darling). James also plays guitar on Benjamin. Alison plays violin on Fisher's hornpipe, but not on Slumber my darling. No other instruments are used anywhere on the album. Stephen Foster wrote the two songs. The other tunes were all either traditional or written by one of the performers.
I'm not sure who this music is primarily aimed at - it may too country for classical fans and too classical for country fans - but if, like me, you are looking for something different, give this a listen.
I cannot compare this to the Audio CD version but the sound quality here is amazingly realistic. You can hear the bowing very clearly, and the lower registers of all the instruments are powerful. It is almost as though they are playing in your room. Track 3 with the solo guitar passages was arresting.
Although the classical label is worn lightly here, some of the pieces, particularly the parts which have violin solos, are intensively expressive. The programme deftly blends the whimsical with the poignant.
It would be hard to fault any of the performers here, especially when they are playing their own compositions. Their ensemble playing is magical.
The documentation is excellent, including the lyrics of the two Stephen Foster songs which were arranged for this album.
If this kind of programme is to your taste (there has been some criticism elsewhere of the music itself), this album will be very worthwhile. Artistically, the performances command admiration, and the sound engineering at times leaves you almost speechless. I bought this album just to satisfy my curiosity, and wound up being enthralled by it.
