Search - Alasdair Fraser :: Dawn Dance

A bright and beautiful recording!

Peter Kasin | California | 05/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With each successive recording, Alasdair Fraser takes Scottish fiddling to new areas, while remaining firmly rooted in tradition. This is his first recording solely devoted to his original compositions, but you would swear they were all traditional tunes if you didn't know he composed them. The lineup of musicians for this album worked so well together, they decided to become a touring band; Skyedance. Fraser's composing is as great as his playing. The tunes touch many emotions, as does his heartfelt and technically brilliant fiddling. Now, reviews are supposed to be critical in the best sense of that word, and not be just advertisements, so in that spirit here is what I see as the album's only fault: It ends. Other than that, it's great!"

An absolutely brilliant cd!

valleyvineyard | California | 01/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While I have enjoyed the sound of the fiddle for many years, I have been clueless as to where to find good recordings. So many albums focus more on the other instruments and the fiddle gets lost in the background. After reading the reviews for this cd I decided to take a chance... and I'm sure glad I did! While there are multiple instruments involved in each piece, it is easy to distinguish each instrument (and clearly hear the beautiful fiddling!). Alasdair Fraser plays with amazing skill and emotion. Since purchasing this cd, I've also picked up a few of his other cds, and can definitely say that this one is the best.



My personal preference in this type of music is for quick-paced, happy melodies - track 3, 8 and 12 deliver exactly what I'm looking for. My ONLY criticism on this cd is the recording quality in a few little spots - every once in a while it sounds as if the track is ending (because the music gets so soft) when they're actually in the middle of the song. However, this is infrequent enough that it doesn't really affect the enjoyment of the music."

Excellent display of the Scottish fiddle.

wilwal@mail.cvn.net | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - USA | 01/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is the best that Alasdair has released. If you are testing the waters, definately buy this CD before ourchasing others that he has produced."