Cantiga Martha's Dragon CD

CANTIGA has delighted visitors to Renaissance Festivals across North America with their magical music for almost 30 years. The word CANTIGA means 'song' in the language of Alfonso X, the 13th century Spanish king whose royal court was a haven for Christian, Muslim, and Jewish musicians. We are dedicated to the spirit of musical improvisation which has flourished in such cultural crossroads throughout history and continues to be celebrated in today's Global Village. "I must say you've outdone yourselves with "Martha's Dragon." Every CD by Cantiga and the NWRB has simply captivated me! And the delight grows with each listening."Walt Haake WDVR FM, Sergeantsville, NJ "Their music is fresh enough to listen to in any setting, yet it gives that warm, old world feeling of times gone by...of loves lost and gained...of celebrations...of the taming of dragons! Martha's Dragon is history and freshness all wrapped into one beautiful musical package! Bravo!-"Overall Rating - 10 out of 10Jen Lush, Midwestbands , 7/31/05 ...............Notes for the tunes on "Martha's Dragon":1. CANTIGA 108 This cantiga, a 13th century song from Alfonso X's 'Cantigas de Santa Maria' tells a bizarre story involving Merlin the Magician, a Jewish wise man and Santa Maria. 2. MARTHA'S DRAGON St. Martha is known for taming, not for slaying her dragon. This tune was written by Bob Bielefeld in the early 1990's. 3. ANDALUZ A medieval Andalusian melody brought to light by Julián Ribera y Tarrago (1858-1934). 4. SKILLYWIDDEN Part of our legacy from Cantiga fiddler Malcolm Smith (1951-1996), this tune began life as a playful response to too many choruses of 'It's a Long, Long Way from Clare to Here', and morphed into our favorite jam tune. 5. VALLE DE LO ALTO We first heard this melody performed by the Andean band Pachacamac and were delighted to discover that it was written by Conrado "Charry" Garcia, our newest member. Charry wrote this tune in Chile in the 1980's. Valle de lo Alto means 'High Valley'. 6. WHITE PETTICOAT A LA TURK Mark became fixated on odd time signatures after borrowing Bob's book of Bulgarian tunes, and an innocent Irish jig in 6/8 slipped into 7! 7. BOUREES These two bourees were published by German composer Michael Praetorius in his collection of French court and country dance music 'Terpsichore' (1612). 8. SPAGNOLETTA A well-known ancient air also published in 'Terpsichore'. We dedicate this dance to the Court Dancers of Scarborough Faire.9. BRANLE DE BOURGOGNE This 16th century French dance tune by Adrian Le Roy alternates four and six-measure phrases. Mark discovered it on a recording of Early Music from the '70s. 10. ERES AGUEDA GLORIOSA We learned this Spanish Renaissance melody for Jeff Baldwin of the Texas Renaissance Festival, who chose it for his production 'Masque of the Conquistadors'. This song is a serenade of love to the beautiful Agueda, who appears to her suitor as radiant as an angel in the midst of her nine sisters. 11. FISCHIETTANDO A tarantella, popular with whistling Sicilianos. The fischietto is the Italian version of the penny-whistle. Fischiettando means 'whistling'. 12. ARGEERS This perky little tune is from John Playford's 'The English Dancing Master' , in print from 1651 to 1728................The Members of Cantiga are: Martha Gay, Harp Mark Caudill,Violin Bob Bielefeld,Wood Flute, Fife Conrado Garcia,Charango, Percussion (Birimbao, Caxixi, Semilla, Triangle), Toyos (bass pan-pipes) Max Dyer, CelloAlso featured on this album, special guest artist Jamal Mohamed,Percussion: Doumbeks (Middle Eastern Goblet drums), Djembe (West African Goblet drum) Riq (Egyptian tambourine), Mazhar (Egyptian Frame drum)................Original Cover painting for Martha's Dragon by illustrator Richard Hull................A Review from Ted Young, New York:"For those not familiar with their work, Cantiga brings together music from all over medieva