Helicon:
The Titan

Liner Notes

Chris Norman: wooden flutes and tin whistle Ken Kolodner: hammered dulcimer and fiddle Robin Bullock: 6- and 12-string guitars, cittern and fiddle with Freyda Epstein: viola on “Nova Scotia January”

Liner notes by Ken Kolodner and Robin Bullock for 2006 reissue:

About Helicon

Helicon began life with Chris Norman and Ken Kolodner in the early 1980s. A fortuitous meeting at a festival added the prodigious talents of Robin Bullock in 1986 and Helicon was officially born. The trio soon became one of a number of ensembles who were at the forefront of expanding the boundaries of traditional music in the U.S. and exploring the genre of what became known as “world music.” Combining diverse musical backgrounds and interests, Helicon’s mission became the interpretation of traditional folk music from around the world. The group took its name from Mount Helicon in Greek mythology, the home of the nine Muses who each inspired a different discipline in the arts. Helicon’s high-energy performances feature a repertoire that is astoundingly varied, ranging from music of South America and Eastern Europe to Celtic and Appalachian fiddle tunes to music of the Far East. The members of Helicon blend their exceptional technical skills and unerring instinct for good tunes into seamless arrangements. In addition to several nationally broadcast concerts over National Public Radio, the CBC, and the Voice of America, Helicon toured extensively from 1986 through 1998, appearing in a wide variety of venues in nearly every state in the U.S. as well as Canada and Germany. Their 1999 CD A Winter Solstice with Helicon won the Association for Independent Music’s prestigious INDIE Award for Best Seasonal Recording. While each member of Helicon now pursues solo careers, the group still reunites every December for their annual Winter Solstice Concerts in Baltimore, MD.

1. In the Csitari Mountain Foothills/The Storm Warning

“In the Csitari Mountain Foothills” is a traditional Hungarian tune collected by Zoltan Kodaly and Béla Bartok. Both of these men spent a considerable amount of time combing the countryside for Hungarian folk tunes. Robin’s “The Storm Warning” is composed in the less typical meter of 5/4.

2. Jerusalem Ridge

One of the many classic instrumentals composed by the “Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe. The title honors a ridge near Monroe’s hometown of Rosine, Kentucky.

3. Breton Schottische/One Summer’s Morning/Four Polkas

The untitled schottische comes from Brittany, the Celtic region of western France. “One Summer’s Morning” was composed by Scottish singer/songwriter/fiddler Dougie MacLean. Four polkas follow from various corners of Europe: “The Tenth of December” from the Gow Collection of Scottish fiddle tunes, the Polish “Polka Suwanna from Rzeszow” from one of Ken’s dulcimer students, “Dick’s Maggot,” an English country dance (“maggot” in old English meant “favorite,” so the title isn’t quite as unappetizing as it sounds), and “Denis Murphy’s Polka,” named for a fine musician from County Kerry, Ireland.

4. Nova Scotia January/The Isle of Lismore

Chris composed the first waltz on a wintry trip back to his native Nova Scotia. Freyda Epstein joins us on this tune. Fiddler Carl MacKenzie of Sydney Forks, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia was our source for the second waltz, named for an island in Loch Linnhe on Scotland’s west coast.

5. Traditional Bolivian/Columbito Tecumano

Chris learned these traditional Bolivian tunes from a group of vacationing Andean musicians while camping in – of all places – Glover, Vermont. “Columbito Tecumano” translates roughly as ” Little Dove of Tecuman.”

6. Mazurka Limosin/Bourée

Two French dance tunes from the central Auvergne and Bourbonnais regions of France, where there is a rich tradition of bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy music.

7. The Athol Highlanders

We twisted this widely-known Scottish highland bagpipe 6/8 march into a reel for twin fiddles and flute.

8. Over the Stone/Maid from the Parish of Penderyn

Two beautiful waltzes from Wales.

9. Shuffle Creek/The Old Brown Case/The Reconciliation

“Shuffle Creek” was composed in the old-time Appalachian style by multi-instrumentalist Greg Dearth, a member of the great (and sadly defunct) Ohio string band the Hotmud Family. Robin takes over with “The Old Brown Case,” a guitar tour de force composed by Norman Blake, and the group finished with the Irish hornpipe “The Reconciliation” played as a fast reel.

10. Jesu Babe Divine/Ganivelle/Jabadaw/The Titan

We close with a wide-ranging set of tunes: “Jesu Babe Divine,” a traditional Christmas carol from Haiti, “Ganivelle,” a schottische from central France composed by Frederic Paris, “Jabadaw,” a Breton polka, and “The Titan” composed by Chris.