On a Cold Winter's Day
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Ken Kolodner & Scottish National Fiddle Champion Elke Baker’s new CD, Official release February 2021
Ken Kolodner - hammered dulcimer, fiddle
Elke Baker - fiddle, viola
Robin Bullock – 6 and 12-string guitars, cittern
Alex Lacquement - bass
- On a Cold Winter's Day (Ireland) / Christmas Day in the Morning (England)/ Masters in this Hall (Marin Marais, 1706, France) 5:49
- In the Bleak Midwinter (Gustav Holst, 1906) 4:08
- The Rumbling Quadrille (Denmark) 4:41
- The Winter Has Passed (Netherlands, circa 1540) / Loftus Jones (Turlough O’Carolan) 6:30
- What Child is This? (England, 16th century) 3:13
- Da Caald Nights of Winter / Da Boannie Isle o' Whalsay (Shetland Islands) / Granny Will Your Dog Bite? (Old-time) 3:32
- The Circle (Ken Kolodner, 2018) 4:06
- Eagle’s Whistle (Ireland) / I Saw Three Ships / Ljunggrens Låga Polska (Sweden) 7:15
- Lay Down Your Arms (Doron Levinson, Israel) 2:59
- Säästöpankki Vals (Finland) / Lars and Satu (Elke Baker, 2019) / Bus Stop Reel (Anita Anderson) / Baker's Favorite (Larry Unger) / Frank's Reel (John McCusker) 7:14
Total running time: 49:30
After guest recording on each other's albums in 2001 (Ken’s Journey to the Heartland and Elke’s Glenelg), we finally collaborated on our first duo album, Out of the Wood, in 2011. Now, after over 25 years of performing together professionally, we celebrate the winter season with this collection of music from diverse traditions. We include pieces from England, France, The Netherlands, Israel, Denmark, Finland, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, The Shetland Islands, Old-time and a couple originals. Winter is a time of reflection and anticipation of renewal, themes you'll find embedded in the music throughout this album. We can hardly wait to get started on our next collaboration!
Ken: “I can’t believe it has been nearly ten years since we recorded Out of the Wood (2011). Ever since that recording, Elke and I have wanted to record from our ever-expanding joint repertoire. We are both ‘tune-hounds’ who get just a little excited about the new pieces we have discovered. More than that, we share the love of ‘our’ tunes. Through her playing, Elke always expresses just how much we love this music. You can feel it in every note that Elke plays! It is such a pleasure to record once again with my friend of so many years, Elke.”
Elke: “For years, Ken and I have gotten together from time to time just to share our latest ‘finds’ in the world of tunes. Nothing is off limits, from Brazilian sambas to American rags to stately English chamber music. It's been apparent to both of us that we have long had a quorum of ‘winter-themed’ music, and the idea of a seasonal album took hold. Ken always brings a wealth of ideas about accompaniment, chords, and bass lines to the music, giving me much inspiration to exploit the strength and range of the viola as well as the violin. We're delighted to have our great friends and music partners Robin Bullock and Alex Lacquement join us.”
U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Elke Baker's distinctive, dance-driven fiddle style has made her one of the most sought-after Scottish fiddlers of our time. Performing solo and with Ken Kolodner, Robin Bullock, and bands Terpsichore, Sugar Beat, Trio con Brio, Olde Vienna, Blue Bamboo and others, Elke has both a range and depth of skill surpassed by very few. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Birchmere, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Hylton Performing Arts Center, Sanders Theatre at Harvard University, in most of the fifty States, and on four continents. She is world-renowned as a Scottish country dance musician, bandleader, and arranger. The Washington Post writes “Baker's fiddle nearly throws off sparks,” while TACSound calls her fiddling “some of the greatest Scottish music to be heard anywhere.” Her music was featured in the soundtrack of the film The Boyhood of John Muir. As a scholar of Scottish music, Elke taught for many years at the Washington Conservatory of Music, was Artist-in-Residence and lecturer at Montgomery College and a panelist at Harvard University. Elke directs the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club, a non-profit Scottish music educational organization now in its 28th year. There she has taught monthly music workshops to many hundreds of students, well over 2000 tunes and counting. She has recorded eight albums, including 2020 release Wait 'til You Hear This One! with Sugar Beat, and a world-premiere single, The Fingerlock (A' Ghlas Mheur), an ancient fiddle pibroch. In addition to Elke and Ken's earlier collaboration, Out of the Wood, Elke has appeared on three of Ken's albums, and numerous others. www.elkebaker.com