By Linda Paulus
Dan Evans’ new album “A Waltz Through The Woods” flows like a brook that sparkles and dances across ancient, polished stones. The cross-cultural, multi-era, and diverse genres that comprise the album transcend Dan’s hope that “there’s something here for everyone and perhaps a song or tune that might touch you in some way.” This conceptual masterpiece prompts reflection and warm memories. It can lift your dinner party or turn an anxious tot into a dancing sprite.
This is Dan’s sixth album, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. If every song tells a story, the collection in “A Waltz Through The Woods” is a sonic bestseller. All of Dan’s dulcimers only have 3 strings and a true diatonic scale, with no half frets. He plays almost exclusively fingerstyle and in a variety of tunings and modes. His go-to tuning for the major scale is DAA, although not always in the key of D.
On this album he offers five new originals alongside fourteen fresh arrangements of treasured favorites. Most intriguing is his choice to juxtapose diverse genres from varied cultural sources and a range of eras. Such choices might have clashed in a lesser producer’s hands; instead, he has curated a collection that reflects our centuries-old-and-new, cross-cultural musical heritage. Lyrical ideas nested in the tunes’ origins return to linger in the instrumentals’ melodic DNA, a gentle reminder that Music and Nature not only fill our spirit, but suggest who we are and can be.
The conceptual premise is simple: we take a metaphorical dance with Evans through his beloved English landscapes and seasons. The result is a waltz as smooth and light as raindrops on a pond.
Our dance commences with an introduction of three fresh arrangements of well-known songs. Dan on the fretted dulcimer, Sharon Sullivan on violin, and the acclaimed Andy Crowdy on classical guitar deliver an instrumental version of the 1968 Irish folk hymn, “Wind in the Willows.”
A new dulcimer/violin instrumental arrangement of pop/rock ABBA’s 1979 “I Have a Dream” – originally inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and dedicated to Martin Luther King – recalls the need for hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. Tim Hardin’s 1967 beloved folk classic “If I Were a Carpenter” shines as Rebecca Hallworth’s vocals convey themes of the love, devotion, sacrifice, vulnerability, and acceptance needed to build strong relationships.
Evans’ beautifully layered “April Day” appears first in line for “spring’s promise” with Dan on dulcimer and Crowdy on percussion. A soft bass line and opening crescendo with Dan’s deft finger-style playing recreate the sound of light rain. Crowdy’s delectable percussive groove never jars. This season’s highlight has to be the lovely “Mary,” dedicated to Dan’s wife. Its repetitive phrasing with slight changes in intonation evoke the slow paging of a long love letter.
Dulcimer and guitar again are the backdrop for “The Water is Wide,” seemingly made for Hallworth’s delicate vocals. Pete Seeger introduced this ancient Scottish ballad to the U.S. Evans takes it back across The Pond, infusing its themes of the power of love and the fragility of relationships infused with rippling dulcimer and delicate guitar.
“summer storms” pose no threat here with “The Pixie’s Waltz,” Turlough O’Carolan’s 17th century air “Sí Beag Sí Móhr,” and the new arrangement of the Yorkshire “Wings.” The third season, “autumn melancholy,” opens with a new arrangement of acclaimed English singer/songwriter Sandy Denny’s 1974 “Like An Old Fashioned Waltz,” while “winter celebrations” includes new arrangements of beloved holiday classics – “Silent Night” and “Auld Lang Syne” beautifully rendered to enjoy year round.
When I want music to get my ticker pumping on a treadmill, my go-to is Ry Cooder’s studio performance of “Prodigal Son.” Off the treadmill, I crave music that delivers what Dan Evan has gifted us in “A Waltz Through The Woods.”
The CD is available now in the U.K. and should be available online by the fall. Find Dan Evans at english-dulcimer.com.
Linda Paulus is the author of “Pluck: The Extraordinary Life and Times of David Schnaufer.” Reach her at linda@davidschnauferpluck.com.
Note on the Arrangement
“The Banks of the Lee” has 3 parts. Find parts B and C (and many other arrangements) on Dan Evans’ website: english-dulcimer.com/free-tab-log.
