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It's all about the strings. Rick Long builds bowed psalteries in Tennessee, and he also excels at playing them. On the appropriately named Bowed Psaltery Christmas, Long presents earthy, straightforward interpretations of traditional holiday favorites on four different sizes of bowed psalteries (soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass), and the strings do not stop there. Long also plays the chorded zither and folk guitar on the album. There's a lot of bowing and plucking going on, and the homespun results are very cool.

In case you don't know, a bowed psaltery is akin to an ancient folk harp; it is a triangular wood instrument with strings that are plucked and/or bowed. The sound is similar to that of a violin, but the psaltery's metal strings produce a more rustic and slightly tinny, haunting sound.

The ancient stringed instruments combine to create an old-timey feel that well complements traditional Christmas music. The 17 tracks nicely cover the ancient carols, and the acoustic air is solemn, yet bright. I particularly enjoyed Sabrina Kumar's flutes on cuts such as God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and I Wonder As I Wander; the flutes' voices soften the more brittle call of the psalteries. My favorite piece is also the longest one (4:28) on the album; In the Bleak Midwinter's warm harmonies really drew me in. Just beautiful.

Hurrah for bowed psalteries and for the craftsmen who create them! Thank you, Rick Long, for the homespun elegance of Bowed Psaltery Christmas.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

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From the liner notes:

Rick Long: Soprano, Tenor, Baritone and Bass Bowed Psalteries, Chorded Zither, and Folk Guitar
Sabrina Kumar: Flutes
Terry Lewis: Appalachian Dulcimer
William (Sandy) Garrett: Folk Guitar

Instrumentation for each track and information about the Bowed Psalteries that Rick Long crafts can be found at the artist's Website.

Rick Long

Bowed Psaltery Christmas

Artist site

Track List