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Review of the CD "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" by www.christmasreviews.com
The Silverwood Quartet (Andra Bohnet, Tom Morley, Jonathan Clark, and Barbara Gabriel) is an extraordinary chamber ensemble, presenting the four voices of flute, violin, viola, and cello in a most exquisite instrumental treatment of classical holiday fare. To Drive the Cold Winter Away is a generous album (almost 75 minutes of music!) covering 26 tracks, including a very impressive six-movement suite ("Hear Ye Newes Today") newly arranged (by Brian Joyce) for this album. The musicianship is superb, and the production values are first-rate. This album is all about excellence and elegance, and the ensemble puts you right in the front row.
Two members of the Silverwood Quartet are moonlighters. Andra Bohnet and Tom Morley spend their more serious, classical moments with this incredible quartet; at other times, they are indulging in rollicking Celtic fun as members of the marvelous Mithril (see Mithril's Winter's Day, also reviewed on this site).
The Silverwood Quartet is largely about strings, and those strings create the most soothing, sometimes mystical, and always moving ambiance. The interactions of harp and cello, violin and viola are pure magic. The intense beauty of songs like "Taladh Chriosda (Christ child Lullaby)," "The Wexford Carol," and so many others can bring tears to your eyes. Then the percussive explosions on "Masters In This Hall" bring you to your feet. Listening to this album can be quite the personal adventure!
To Drive the Cold Winter Away is an absolutely delightful holiday album. It will provide the perfect atmosphere for dinner parties, other festive gatherings, or just contemplating the fire on a December night. Although this album may not actually drive the cold winter away, it will certainly make the cold winter considerably more bearable.
--Carol Swanson
Mobile Register
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Arts Columnist Thomas Harrison e-mail
Silverwood Quartet closes MSO Chamber Series
Six years of the Mobile Symphony Chamber Series have brought highlights aplenty, but they might have saved the best for last.
The "alternative" series showcasing the MSO musicians in a relaxed, informal setting presented talented performers such as Mithril, the Renegade Brass and Wendy Klopfenstein & Friends.
No group is more synonymous with the series than the Silverwood Quartet, so it is fitting that the final concert in the chamber series will be a celebration of music, pop culture and the gifted foursome.
Silverwood Quartet will perform a "Tribute to Classic Rock" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
The Silverwood Quartet musicians are: Tom Morley, violin; Andra Bohnet, flutes, bansuri, recorder, whistle, piccolo; Barbara Gabriel, cello; and Jonathan Clark, viola, guitar, sitar, tambourine.
Thursday's concert also will be a "CD release party" for Silverwood's "Classic Rock Album" that lives up to its title with cuts such as Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild," Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," Crosby, Stills and Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and a Rolling Stones medley featuring "Paint It Black/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Satisfaction."
"We are very excited about this CD," says Morley. "It is totally different than anything Silverwood has done before. Of course, we have featured a rock tune or two on earlier CDs, but to hear all these pieces together and realize what we've tried to do with them-it's really exciting."
In every season except 2003-04, Silverwood Quartet was the final concert of the season and Bohnet says it was always an artistic high point for the ensemble and gave the foursome the opportunity to prepare new repertoire and commission new work.
"The only reason we didn't play on the series last year was because it created a bit of an overexposure issue because Mithril was playing," says Bohnet, "so we decided at that point to have the groups (Silverwood and Mithril) play in alternate years."
Bohnet says audiences for the chamber series have been a mixed bag.
"For Silverwood and Mithril both, we have had a good mix of symphony types along with university students," she says, "and reaction to both groups has been extremely enthusiastic."
The first Mithril shows were standing-room-only and overflowed the stage, set attendance records at the Laidlaw and at the USABC performance center in Fairhope. Other concerts on the series have varied, crowds mostly smaller and largely older.
"I think both Silverwood and Mithril have a pretty strong fan base, so that helped us a lot," she says, "but a few of the others did pretty well, notably the 'Three Concertmasters,' the first PDQ Bach show and the first 'Girls Nite Out.'
"I was surprised at how light the audiences were for the Heim Duo or some of the others which were quite good artistically," she says.
Christina Littlejohn, executive director for the orchestra, says the chamber series "really helped us build reputation of Mobile Symphony players and local musicians."
"We wanted to showcase the talent we have here in Mobile," she says, "and we also wanted to develop that talent. Ensemble and chamber music is one of the best ways to grow as a musician. It really forces you to work as a team, rehearse together. It helps build musicianship as well."
While the chamber series helped keep Silverwood Quartet in the public eye, it catapulted Mithril into the spotlight.
"Andra and I had been playing as a two-piece band, but we invited David (Hughes) and Ben (Harper) to join us, and we put the four-piece band together with the express purpose of playing for the chamber series," Morley says. "Our first concerts were to sellout crowds in Fairhope and Mobile -- and thanks to that we've been able to keep up the momentum."
The momentum for Silverwood Quartet continues with the "Classic Rock" CD, which came together as a result of what Bohnet describes as "a really crazy combination of circumstances."
Four of the tunes -- "Eleanor Rigby," "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Nights in White Satin" and parts of the Jethro Tull medley -- were recorded on earlier Silverwood CDs now out of print. All four tunes have "new and improved" arrangements, says Bohnet -- substantial changes in the Tull medley.
Neither of the previous recordings featured the current Silverwood lineup, and Bohnet and Morley agree that the quartet's sound is vastly improved with the addition of Gabriel and Clark.
Other tunes on the new CD, including "Born To Be Wild," "Here Comes the Sun," "Stairway to Heaven" and "Within You Without You," had been played in concert -- mostly on the MSO chamber series.
"These also underwent substantial tweaking in the rehearsal/recording process," says Bohnet. "Most of the others, new for this project ("Classical Gas" and the Stones medley, for example) ... began as arrangements we got from Tom's violinist friend in Nashville, Paul Tobias, who has a string group that he writes for.
" The arrangements are pretty 'vanilla' so we tweaked them a lot," she says.
The last tune, "Roundabout," is Clark's first arrangement for Silverwood -- "and hopefully not the last," Bohnet says.
She says Clark is "a Yes fanatic, and the chart is awesome."
"When we were putting together the play list for the project, we wanted to include some of everybody's favorite stuff," she says. "We already have the start of a play list for 'Classic Rock, Vol. II,' things that we ran out of time to put on this one."
Bohnet says "Classic Rock" is the most creative Silverwood CD project to date, because all four musicians had "tremendous" creative input. The group's most recent CD, "To Drive the Cold Winter Away," featured mostly arrangements by Bohnet (except for the work by Brian Joyce), and the quartet essentially played the arrangements as she conceived them.
Conversely, she describes this CD as the result of "largely a group pow-wow."
"We would sit in Jon's studio and listen to the original rock tune, then play our arrangement, such as it was," she says. "Then we'd start to brainstorm: Who can play the other guitar lick? How can we do the drum fill? How can we get more of the original bass line in place? How do they really sing that? And a thousand other things to try to bring out the 'essence' of the original.
"Sort of like the ultimate cover-band versions, but obviously with different instruments and no vocals."
Bohnet, Morley and their colleagues are justifiably proud of the results, which can be heard at Thursday's concert.
"It was so much fun!" says Bohnet, "and a lot less pressure than playing classical stuff because the type of precision required is different. ... There was a lot of room for spontaneity, and every take was different in some way."
Thursday's concert will be a bittersweet occasion, says Morley.
"I think Christina and the MSO had a wonderful idea when they started the series several seasons ago," he says.
"I think people around here sometimes have the idea that music has to be imported to be good, and with all the people who participated in the chamber series, we've shown that that isn't the case."
Not by a long shot. The Mobile Symphony chamber series enjoyed a successful run and was an integral part of the growth of the organization. The good news is, the musicians are still around and still eager to perform, whatever the venue.
Thomas B. Harrison may be reached at (251) 219-5677 or toll-free (800) 239-1340, Ext. 5677. Fax (251) 219-5799, or e-mail: tharrison@mobileregister.com/
Mobile Register
ArtBeat - Sunday, December 19, 2004
Arts Columnist Thomas Harrison e-mail
"New CDs reveal artistry, versatility of area musicians"
Late fall early winter is a glorious time of frosty overnight temperatures, wind-chills and the requisite whining of parka-clad locals who complain when the mercury dips below 80. The air is crisp, the sunsets magnificent, and the energy level on high.
Perfection would be a steady, two-day snowfall to blanket the dreary Gulf Coast and transform the landscape of swamps and dank woods into a sparkling wonderland. A time to relax and enjoy music that enhances the seasonal mood.
For the past two weeks I have been listening to a pair of extraordinary CDs, "Winter's Day" by the Celtic group Mithril, and "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" by Silverwood Quartet (Flying Frog Music, $15 each). Produced by violinist Tom Morley and flutist Andra Bohnet -- founding members of both groups -- the two releases are strikingly different.
The common link is the artistry, the high level of musicianship and impressive range of musical interest. Concert audiences know Morley and Bohnet as members of Mobile Symphony Orchestra, but their influence extends well beyond the MSO.
Along with their Mithril colleagues Ben Harper and David Hughes, they took the spotlight Saturday for "A Celtic Christmas." As half of Silverwood Quartet, one of the region's most respected chamber ensembles, Morley and Bohnet will join violist Jonathan Clark and cellist Barbara Gabriel for the April finale to Mobile Symphony's chamber series.
As a matter of enlightened self-interest, ArtBeat doesn't do reviews or endorsements but I am compelled to report noteworthy achievements -- and these CDs constitute a double triumph.
Last week Arts & Leisure discussed the Mithril concert, but I want to mention a couple of highlights from the group's eclectic new CD. "Winter's Day," the logical follow-up to the group's 2002 recording "Banish Misfortune," is a marvelous 55 minutes of reels, jigs and airs, plus a surprise or two.
Séamus McGuire's "The Wishing Tree" gets an especially sensitive interpretation thanks to Bohnet's exquisite harp and flute, and Morley's soulful violin. Silverwood cellist Barb Gabriel plays beautifully in a "guest" appearance. A decidedly different (but excellent) version of "Wishing Tree" is the second cut on the Silverwood CD.
A real eye-opener is "Khanike Freylekhs," a Hanukkah tune by Adrianne Greenbaum, described as "a Klezmer flutist extraordinaire," who had a freylekhs (dance tune) partially composed. At Bohnet's request, she finished the piece and submitted it.
In addition to "The Wishing Tree," Silverwood's "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" includes a work commissioned from Ohio composer Brian Joyce, whose touch was evident the group's first Christmas CD, "Gifts of the Season."
"Hear Ye Newes" is a six-movement suite that liner notes describe as "a unique and charming setting of both traditional Christmas tunes and original material." The piece, which had its premiere recently at the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center, features the quartet performing on a variety of percussion instruments.
Bohnet, a professor of music at the University of South Alabama, collected, researched and arranged most of the music from disparate styles and sources and the result, according to her notes, "reflects an older, earthier and simpler view of Christmas, winter, and the holiday season."
Repertoire comes from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Celtic sources and features two of the most well-known classical works associated with the holidays, Corelli's "Christmas Concerto" and "Winter" from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons."
A personal highlight is the ensemble's performance of Loreena McKennitt's "The Mummer's Dance," a piece that actually got some airplay locally a few seasons ago. Bohnet and Morley play seamlessly, whether with Clark and Gabriel or with the Mithril tandem of Harper and Hughes. In both cases, the results are thrilling.
The new releases are available via the Web site (www.flyingfrogmusic.com ), through Mobile Symphony, Bay Sound in Daphne, and area retailers.
Morley and Bohnet attended to every salient detail, including the choice of artwork for their CDs. Babs Damesimo created the Silverwood cover; Patti Miller did the artwork for "Winter's Day," on which Mithril appears with a Celtic cross created by Stephanie Burks-Rochford. All are local artists.
It is the nature of most people to assume that imported is better -- that local talent, like domestic wine, cannot possibly measure up. Two new releases by Mithril and Silverwood prove otherwise. This is music to be savored, whatever the season.
Thomas B. Harrison may be reached at (251) 219-5677 or toll-free (800) 239-1340, Ext. 5677. Fax (251) 219-5799, or e-mail: tharrison@mobileregister.com