Dréos: Cascade Mountain Aire (2023)

Much has happened since Dréos recorded their debut album, The Clearing. Among the things that have changed little, however, are the majestic mountains, surging rivers, ancient forests, and rugged coastlines of the Pacific Northwest. Cascade Mountain Aire invites you into musical moments of adventure and uncertainty, energy and reflection, peace and tranquility, inspired by the place we call home. 

1. The Vintage (comp. Eliot Grasso) / North Sea Crossing (comp. Brandon Vance)

“The Vintage” is a tune in 7/8 that calls upon some unusual harmonizations. “Crossing the North Sea” evokes the Swedish polska, and is inspired by the Swedish band Väsen.

2. Seán Keane’s / The Princess Royal (comp. Turlough O’Carolan)

Eliot learned “Seán Keane’s” (also known as “The Humours of Ballyconnel”) from a recording of Dublin fiddler many years ago. “The Princess Royal” is a beautiful old tune composed by the blind Irish harper, Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738).

3. Cascade Mountain Aire (comp. Brandon Vance)

Brandon wrote “Cascade Mountain Aire” many years ago, and he thinks of it as sort of a love song to the Pacific Northwest–an ode to the beauty of nature that provides inspiration to so many.

4. John Doherty's / Colonel Fraser

These are two traditional Irish reels. Eliot learned “John Doherty’s” from fiddler Paddy Glackin’s album In Full Spate. Colonel Fraser is a five-part session warhorse of a tune. 

5. Half Your Life (comp. Eliot Grasso) / The Gates Lifted (comp. Eliot Grasso) / The Lemon Tree (comp. Eliot Grasso)

Eliot composed “Half Your Life” for Iain Waddell on his tenth birthday to commemorate having worked on music together on fiddle lessons since age five–half his life. When Eliot asked Iain to title the tune, he offered up “The Big Fat Monster,” which, though charming, seemed a better fit for a slower, more rotund reel. “The Gates Lifted” Eliot composed to celebrate the removal of the child safety gates in his Oregon home. “The Lemon Tree” is a reel that Eliot wrote for his Aunt Christine upon her passing.

6. Ut i mörka natten (comp. Emilia Amper) / Benoit Kensier’s (comp. Benoit Kensier) / Maggie’s Reel (comp. Liz Carroll)

“Ut i mörka natten,” Swedish for “Out into the dark night,” is a beautiful and haunting song by Swedish nyckelharpa player, singer, and composer Emilia Amper that she graciously gave permission for us to arrange and record instrumentally. Below is an English translation of her stunning lyrics. “Benoit Kensier’s” was composed by French cornemuse-player, Benoit Kensier. “Maggie’s Reel” was composed by Liz Carroll. Eliot learned it from an old cassette tape played in accordion-player Billy McComiskey’s van driving between Baltimore and Washington D.C. in the 1990s.

7. An Innis Àigh

“An Innis Àigh” is a Scots-Gaelic song whose title translates as “The Happy Isle,” a perhaps striking label given the somberness of the melody. We have tried to capture the melancholy of the melody with our harmonic arrangement of this old song.

8. Gentleman Farmer (comp. Glen Waddell)

Sometimes when reminiscing about a day well spent, comforting little tunes arrive with perfect timing. This is one of those tunes.

9. The Highland Man Who Kissed His Granny / Rip the Calico

Eliot learned “The Highland Man Who Kissed His Granny” from a recording of uilleann piper Robbie Hannan playing at a piper’s gathering in Miltown Malbay in the 1990s. “Rip the Calico” is a favorite session tune. Until the discovery of the New World and the settling of the American colonies, weavers in Ireland made their living by weaving wool for clothing, a valuable commodity produced through time-intensive labor at the loom. As cotton (cheaper and easier to work with) began to flood in from the American colonies, and as England began to colonize India in the 19th century (another source of cotton), this influx of new plant-based fabric (worked over in factories, more so than on looms) threatened the livelihood of Irish weavers. Calico ultimately became an abomination in the eyes of the Irish wool industry and became a prime target for ripping with the hopes that damaged garments would have to be replaced with the local and more readily available wool.

10. A’ Mhisg a chuir an Nollaig Oirnn / Calum Crùbach / Muileann Dùbh / Jock Broon's 70th (comp. Gordon Duncan)

The first three songs are called “Puirt-a-beul,” (pronounced Poorsht-a-be-OLL) which means “Tune-of-the-Mouth” in Scots-Gaelic. These songs are typically light-hearted and nonsensical, focusing on rhythmic, repetitive phrases and fun alliteration. They are often instrumental dance tunes that have been adapted for the voice. Historically these “Puirt-a-beul” were sung at dances in the Hebrides, when instruments were banned by the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. “Calum Crúbach” in particular is also known as “Sarah Drummond of Perth,” originally attributed to famous Dunkeld fiddler, Neil Gow. “Jock Broon’s 70th” is a three-part reel composed by the famous Pitlochry highland piper Gordon Duncan.

released September 1, 2023

Cascade Mountain Aire Album Credits:

produced by Dréos
recorded by Lance Miller at the University of Oregon, and Chris Spencer at SophiaHat Studios
mixed and mastered by Gerard Hranek at Acoustic Prism
cover artwork: Glen Waddell

all tunes traditional unless otherwise noted
arrangements by Dréos
all original compositions recorded with permission of the composer

Dréos is
Eliot Grasso: uilleann pipes, flute, low whistle
Brandon Vance: fiddle, hardanger fiddle, voice
Glen Waddell: bouzouki, guitar, accordion, djembe

© ℗ Dréos 2023

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