Arontius of Bygelswade

.....Last night at the Business Meeting Tymothy handed me several CD's of music he'd put together from a cassette tape I had given to him. It was a cassette of harp and hammered dulcimer music recorded in 1980 by Phillip and Pam Boulding of Magical Strings (before they were even married). It is one of my favorite tapes of pseudo Celtic music and I've played it many thousands of times over the years since my mother bought it for me at the first Northwest Folklife Festival we attended in 1980.

.....The Bouldings have recorded many albums since then, and I like their recent music. But when you play them side-by-side you really notice a difference. The more recent music is polished and technically brilliant, but it is missing the simplicity and joy that really shines in the tape from 1980. 'Glass Horse' is unpolished and is just the two of them having fun.

.....The Bouldings are really great people to listen to and learn from. They live on a farm in Olalla and Phillip travels the Sound and teaches harp and hammered dulcimer. They are constantly doing concerts and have a regular summer camp on their property (which reminds me that I should REALLY check it out again with a recent eye and see if it is big enough for an event).

.....But like I said, 'Glass Horse' is a thirty year old tape that has been played with abandon. It clicks and hisses and whines and is stretched in places. I handed the tape to Tymothy thinking that if he could get the music to just be, recognizable, that I would be happy.

.....I popped the music CD into the car's player this morning on the way to work and was absolutely astounded at what emanated from the speakers! It was FANTASTIC! The hissing and background noises were gone. It sounded like it had been recorded for the CD. I was astounded and spent at least twenty minutes in the parking garage listening to as much as I could before I had to run to my desk. If anything it sounded even better than it had when I first heard the tape some thirty years ago.

.....Tymothy? I bow in your general direction and pronounce you a 'musical god'. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.