New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - "It is often said that when played soulfully the violin, of all instruments, sounds the most like the human voice," says Bob Childs, founder of Childsplay, a unique ensemble of fiddle players from the US and
Europe who blend together their wide range of musical traditions using instruments all handcrafted by Bob himself. On the group's new album 'Waiting For the Dawn' (out June 23rd), their first to feature vocals prominently, Childsplay explores the relationship between these instruments through songs that highlight the expressive capacity - and fine craftsmanship - of both.
On 'Waiting For The Dawn,' Childsplay showcases its members' diverse individual backgrounds and voices by incorporating a wide array of genres and styles into their music. The album includes original songs written by the group members, covers (Steve Earle's "Christmas in Washington") and traditional hymns. Celtic ("Ratting Roaring Willie"), bluegrass ("Sweet Sunny South"), gospel ("Tears of Healing Rain") and pop ("Love Me Tender") converge throughout the album, sometimes on the same track, highlighting the interaction between the violin and voice: The fiddles dance around singer Aoife O'Donovan's angelic whisper on songs like "I Am A Youth," while "Liam Childs" (a song named after Bob's son) shows how the violin can express as much emotion as the human voice.
As his ensemble's sole luthier, Bob is personally responsible for the craftsmanship behind each member's instrument, which is essential to understanding Childsplay's distinct sound. "It is rare to hear a whole family of instruments made by the same craftsman playing together," Bob explains, referring to his group's exceptional tradition. Because of this exceptional unifying factor, the individual musicians' different stylistic backgrounds find a basic commonality that Bob likens to the most basic of human connections: the family. "The group's special sound lies not only in the skill of the individual musicians but in the familial timbre of the instruments they play - a quality similar to the vocal blending of singers from the same family."
Childsplay has featured anywhere from 14 to nearly two-dozen musicians - including Irish and Scottish national fiddle champions and Boston Symphony members - in their various performances and previous four recordings. These musicians are joined together by their interest in the beautifully handcrafted violins by Childs, who has been making the instrument for 30 years in his Cambridge, Massachusetts shop, spending about 200 hours to make just one violin. "I enjoy the process of making a violin by getting to know the player," Childs shared with Strings Magazine. He explains the process begins with "helping define a sound and picking out the wood, the model, and all that will produce that sound in the finished product."
'Waiting For The Dawn' track list:
1. Ratting Roaring Willie/High Drive
2. Liam Childs/Balkin' Balkan/The E-B-E Reel
Liz Carroll/BMI
3. Tears of Healing Rain (song) /After the Rain (tune)
1998 Mark Simos/Devachan Music /BMI. Orchestral arrangement 2008 Mark Simos/Devachan Music /BMI. All rights reserved.
4. Frost Place/Otherwise Engaged/The Aughamore
Shannon Heaton/BMI Arranged by Shannon Heaton
5. I am a Youth that's Inclined to Ramble (Traditional)
Arranged by Sean O' Laughlin, Arranged for Childsplay by John McGann/Arbor Vitae Music/ASCAP
6. Mothers of the Disappeared/The Evenstar
Mothers of the Disappeared (Hewson, Evans, Mullen, Clayton) / The Evenstar/ 2004 Hanneke Cassel | Arranged by Hanneke Cassel
7. SamSam Amidon/Good Morning to your Night Cap
SamSam Amidon Black Isle Music/BMI | Arranged by Keith Murphy/ Black Isle Music/BMI
8. Christmas in Washington
(Steve Earle) Arranged by John McGann/Arbor Vitae Music/ASCAP/Additional melody/Hanneke Cassel
9. Queen Maeve's Slumber
Sheila Falls-Keohane/BMI | Arranged by John McGann/Arbor Vitae Music/ASCAP
10. Sweet Sunny South
(Traditional) Arranged by John McGann/Arbor Vitae Music /ASCAP
11. Compliments to Cameron Chisholm/Waiting for the Dawn
(Compliments to Cameron Chisholm Maybelle Chisholm/ Socan / Canadian Archives / Waiting for the Dawn / 2006 Hanneke Cassel)
12. Soir et Matin
Arranged by Pete Sutherland
13. Love Me Tender
(Matson, Pressley) Arranged by John McGann/Arbor Vitae Music/ASCAP
