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Our Review

Some of the season's best music comes from our neighbors to the north, especially if you crave Celtic/folk stylings that deliver a haunting simplicity. Canadians Ardyth Robinson and Jennifer Wyatt are superb harpists, but more importantly, have extremely well-matched voices that soar and harmonize brilliantly. On Winterfire, Ardyth and Jennifer deliver 13 excellent tracks, including Jennifer's own "Snow," a lovely instrumental that showcases her harp abilities. The women benefit from sparse, but warmly supportive, accompaniment from acoustic bass (Pam Mason), percussion (Ken Shorley), cello (Rick Tersteeg), whistles (Glen Coolen) and didgereedoo (Mark Curry).

The album opens with a delicately-crafted "Winter, Fire and Snow"; the fragile opening bars are achingly beautiful, setting the tone for the entire offering. There are many special moments on Winterfire. "What Child Is This" is mesmerizing, exuding an exotic Middle Eastern flair. Ardyth and Jennifer's folksy "Silent Night" is completely captivating--probably one of the best I've heard--complete with magical harmonies and floating flute lines. Other favorites here include the soulful "In the Bleak Midwinter" and the sweet "Hodie."

I listened to Winterfire three times while putting this review together. At some point, however, the review must come to an end! Wonderful holiday music like this is a special gift, something that doesn't come along very often. Spend an exquisite evening with Ardyth and Jennifer; it will be time extremely well spent.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2005)

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From the liner notes:

Ardyth Robinson: Harp & Vocals
Jennifer Wyatt: Harp, Vocals & "Banshee"
Pam Mason: Acoustic bass
Ken Shorley: Percussion
Rick Tersteeg: Cello
Glen Coolen: Whistles
Mark Curry: Didgereedoo

This album has been the culmination of many great years of playing together, meeting wonderful musicians, and enjoying the Christmas season.

All songs on this CD have been written or arranged by Ardyth Robinson and Jennifer Wyatt. . . with the exception of "Come and Join the Dance," which appears by permission of Graham Kendrick; "Winter Fire and Snow," which appears by permission of Brendan Graham and Macdara Woods, and the words to "A Stable Lamp is Lighted," which appear courtesy of Harcourt Publishing.

Produced by Ardyth and Jennifer

From the Web site:

Ardyth & Jennifer have been performing and giving workshops for many years with their unique mix of harp and original songs.

Their performances are engaging and unique journeys, which draw in their audiences and leave them breathless. Ardyth & Jennifer have three recordings; Awakening, Promise, and WinterFire. All three CDs are produced and arranged the way they perform, simply and cleanly, adding a few choice instruments here and there, allowing the pure sound of harps and voices to shine through, highlighting the stories in their songs.

Ardyth & Jennifer have performed at many premier concert venues around the Maritimes and into the New England States, including The Savoy in Cape Breton, The Jubilee Theatre in Summerside, the deCoste Centre in Pictou, the Grand in Ellsworth Maine, the Theater at Monmouth in Maine and The Imperial Theatre in Saint John, where they have played to sold out crowds and standing ovations, selling a record number of CDs.

Ardyth and Jennifer

Winterfire

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Track List