Celtic Music: Elizabeth Nicholson

Elizabeth Nicholson grew up in Chicago, where she studied traditional Irish harp and pedal harp. She relocated to Portland in 1993 to study at Reed College and quickly became a part of the Portland traditional music community. She performed frequently on the streets and at Portland Saturday Market, selling a self-produced CD with the title The Lulling Hour. The contents of that first CD, one of which I bought from Elizabeth at Saturday Market, are different from the one now being sold.

She has been a full-time musician since 1998, and has played a wide variety of venues from street corners to folk festivals, weddings, funerals, and regional radio and television. In addition to performing solo, she's part of four ensembles: Elizabeth Nicholson and Stringed Migration, The Rose and Thistle Band, The Stone Doves (duo with Bob Soper), and Strawberry Rune (duo with Lauren Sheehan). She has also recorded and performed with Highland bagpiper Rob Barrick.

Featuring only harp and vocals, Elizabeth Nicholson's latest release in 2009 is a collection of songs and tunes from the traditions of Ireland, Scotland and England. Elizabeth's clear, sweet voice and nimble playing make this an album that's delightful to listen to in any month of the year.

Track listing:

1, The Maid On the Shore
2. The Rolling Waves/The Bonny Light Horseman
3. An Paistin Fionn/The Tailor's Twist
4. Geordie/Toss the Feathers/The Golden Keyboard
5. A Rosebud in June
6. The Monihan Jig/The Mist Covered Mountain
7. Blow the Candles Out
8. The Water Is Wide
9. Lord Haddo's Favorite
10. The Strange Night's Courting/My Lady Carey's Dompe
11. Westlin Winds
12. Castle Kelly/The Congress Reel/The Collier's
13. The Parting Glass

from CD Baby

Solo harp by Elizabeth Nicholson on her first recording of tunes from Ireland and elsewhere in Europe plus a couple of original tunes.

1. Cremonea
2. Lord Gordon's Reel/the Humors of Lissadell
3. Pazzemezzo Antico/der Hupff Auff/mr. O'connor
4. Farewell to Music
5. Return to Fingal/king Alfonse
6. Parting of Friends
7. Molly St. George
8. Mrs. Maxwell
9. Eddie Kelly's/paddy Fahey's Jigs
10. Waltz/galway Bay
11. Luci's Jig/lament
12. Planxty Hewlett

Elizabeth Nicholson's second solo release in 2006 got a lot of attention quickly. It was a pick hit on Rich Warren's "Midnight Special" folk show broadcast nationally from Chicago, a folk album of the month on Iowa Public Radio, and featured in one of Fiona Ritchie's Thistlepod podcasts from the NPR show "The Thistle & Shamrock."

1. Black is the Color/Mystery Reel
2. Seven Seas
3. Tailchaser's Jig/The Red Nose
4. Dearest Nancy
5. House Carpenter/The Broken Pledge
6. The Sandpiper
7. John Badger
8. Kitty O'Shea
9. Fair Annie

Stringed Migration is: Elizabeth Nicholson on vocals, harps, and guitar; Eddie Parente on violin and viola; Bob Soper on percussion, fiddle, vocals and guitar; Rob Barrick on double bass and Scottish smallpipes; and Jim Chapman on Irish and Greek bouzoukis and Irish whistles. The performers have been influenced by Latin, Balkan, Americana, rock, Mediæval, classical Indian, Western classical and jazz music as well as traditional Irish and Scottish music. "The idea," says founder Elizabeth Nicholson, "is to allow everyone in the band to draw from the full spectrum of their experience, rather than conforming to a rigidly defined idiom."

1. Lebanese Melody - the Unquiet Grave
2. Paddy Fahey's - Cape Breton Reel
3. Fly Not Yet
4. La Rotta - Waltz From Orsa
5. Paddy's Rambles - Funky Reel
6. Lord Thomas
7. St John's Jig - the Barn Swallow - Mt Tabor Reel
8. The Dewey Dens of Yarrow
9. Romanian Hora - Galway Bay
10. Am I Born to Die



Fly Not Yet from Amazon.com | MP3 from Amazon.com | CD from Amazon.co.uk

Rob Barrick on highland pipes, Scottish smallpipes, bass, and percussion, Elizabeth Nicholson on Celtic harp, vocals, guitar and Eddie Parente on violin and viola are The Rose and Thistle Wedding Band. This is a followup to Rob and Elizabeth's duo album of Celtic wedding music

1 The Wedding Reel
2 Cradle Song
3 Canon in D
4 The Breton Wedding March
5 The Piper's Prayer
6 Tabhair Do'm Do Lamh (Give Me Your Hand)
7 Haste to the Wedding/The Wedding Jig/The Wedding Party
8 Spring Wedding/Troy's Wedding
9 Loftus Jones
10 Wooed and Married and A'/Rab's Wedding
11 Mari's Wedding

This is a partial compilation of the two Celtic Wedding Music recordings plus additional tunes for a more general appeal from the trio of Elizabeth Nicholson, Rob Barrick and Eddie Parente.

1 Haste to the Wedding/Wedding Jig/The Wedding Party
2 Red is the Rose
3 Give Me Your Hand
4 Spring/Troy's Wedding
5 Young May Moon
6 The Wedding Reel
7 Bonnie Lass of Fyvie
8 Christmas Day in the Morning/Christmas Eve
9 Dearest Nancy/Dreams of Old Pa Fogarty
10 Loftus Jones11 Wild Mountain Thyme
12 Dinky's/The High Reel

The Rose and Thistle Band consists of Elizabeth Nicholson (harp, guitar, vocals), Eddie Parente (violin, viola), and Rob Barrick (Scottish Pipes, bass violin). These three Pacific Northwest musicians present traditional Christmas music from Ireland, Scotland, England and France.

1. Christ Child Lullabye
2. The Holly Bears a Berry
3. New Years Day/New Christmas/Christmas Carousing
4. The Wexford Carol
5. The Cherry Tree Carol
6. Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella/Hewlitt's
7. Christmas Day in the Morning/Christmas Eve
8. Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence/The Strayaway Child
9. What Child is This
10. O Come O Come Emmanuel

Bthe Highland bagpipes and the Celtic harp have long histories of being played for funerals and memorial services. The tunes included on this CD are those that are most requested for such ceremonies.

1 Amazing Grace - 2 verses
2 Going Home
3 Flowers of the Forest
4 My Lodgings on the Cold Ground
5 Dark Island/My Home/Skye Boat Song
6 Minstrel Boy
7 Mist Covered Mountains
8 Martyrdom/Hyfrodol
9 Amazing Grace - 5 verses
10 Believe Me if all These Endearing Young Charms
11 The Clergy's Lament
12 Danny Boy
13 Rory Dall's Sister's Lament
14 The Last Rose of Summer
15 The Parting Glass
16 O'Carolan's Farewell to Music

After years of playing at wedding ceremonies, Rob Barrick and Elizabeth Nicholson decided to combine their music on an album together. While it has gotten a goodly amount of play at weddings, it's also something that can be enjoyed just as a listening experience.

1 Skye Boat Song
2 Eleanor Plunkett
3 Amazing Grace
4 Cremonea
5 Providence/Hyfrodol
6 Hewlitt's
7 Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
8 Ash Grove9 Cooney's Waltz/Nameless Waltz/Figi Love Song
10 Bridal March - Harp
11 Bridal March - Highland Pipes
12 Bridal March - Harp and Pipes
13 Four Seasons
14 Scotland the Brave/Highland Laddie/Mari's Wedding15 Dinkey's Reel/The High Reel
16 The Highland Wedding March
17 Lark in the Morning/Atholl Highlanders