Laura Risk - The Merry Making (2000)

Laura Risk plays her fiddle with passion and finesse on her new CD, The Merry Making, leaving the listener sighing for more. Capturing a glimpse of emotions seldom expressed on any instrument, Risk bows the strings with a delicate grace, yet draws unbridled passion from them. The result is a collection of music that is startlingly beautiful and deftly executed.
Risk’s music selection is impeccable, representing the choicest of dance tunes from Scotland, Cape Breton, Quebec, New England, and Ireland. The tunes range from straightforward reels and hornpipes to more unusual melodies. Some of the tunes are very familiar, and others are not well known at all. It is clear that the 18th century Scottish dance music at the core of this recording influenced the other dance tunes, and vice versa, bringing about a wealth of traditional dance material, all with the same basic roots. From the scope and range of the tunes, it is easy to see how that music style evolved into some of the more contemporary tunes on the recording.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Laura Risk - Galope de Jonquiere (Quebec) - Mrs. Mary MacDonald (Scotland) (3:49)
1.02 - Laura Risk - Lord Moira (Scotland) - The Merry Making (Scotland) (6:06)
1.03 - Laura Risk - The Sailor's Wife (Scotland) - Cullen House (Scotland and Cape Breton) (4:52)
1.04 - Laura Risk - Marc's Waltz (5:15)
1.05 - Laura Risk - Ross's Reel No. 4 (New Englnad) - Sharp's Hornpipe (New Englnad) - Marquis of Queensbury (Scotland) (3:43)
1.06 - Laura Risk - Clan Ranald (Scotland) (5:34)
1.07 - Laura Risk - Hiawatha (Cape Breton) - Gramin - Sailor's Hornpipe (Scotland) (4:32)
1.08 - Laura Risk - Northern March (Ireland) - The 8th Argylls' Farewell to the 116th Regiment de Ligne (3:07)
1.09 - Laura Risk - John McAlpin (Scotland) (4:23)
1.10 - Laura Risk - Gorthleck's Highland Plaid (Scotland) - Mrs. McPherson of Cluny (3:40)
1.11 - Laura Risk - Walter Douglas M.B.E. - Reel du Verre-Bouteille (3:43)
1.12 - Laura Risk - December Reel (2:22)
1.13 - Laura Risk - Reel du Queteux Tremblay (Quebec) - The Farmer's Daughter (Scotland and Cape Breton) (3:30)
1.14 - Laura Risk - Air Charles St. Hilaire (Quebec) (3:09)
1.15 - Laura Risk - My Maryanne (Ireland) (3:26)
1.16 - Laura Risk - Sunday River (5:04)