There are undoubtedly more foolish things one could do than to rise before dawn, ascend Pack 
Monadnock wearing knickers, strap bells to your shins, and prance around waving, alternately, hankies and sticks at each other, with the temperature below freezing on the first May morning.
Perhaps it was the gorgeous sunrise, the briskness of the air, or maybe just the idea that anyone nutty enough to be up there was probably a good candidate for fun. In any case, the mountain was abundant with good cheer as the Harrisville Morris Women and The Jack-in-the-Green Morris danced, sang and joked (yes we must not forget the fool) in the spring. Camera’s were abundant as well. Go to MFS TV to see some video, or to this year’s May Day Morris Dance photo page. Continue reading »
week (March 25th). Most folks who have been around the folk music and dance scene are probably familiar with O’Carolan’s greatest hits; “Planxty Fanny Power”, “Hewlett”, “Planxty Irwin”, “Sheebeg and Sheemore” (generally iterated with a guffaw as “She Begged for More”), and of course, “O’Carolan’s Concerto”. The complete list of his tunes numbers over 200, though the certainty of his being the composer is questionable in a number of cases.
England musicians: Art Bryan, George Fowler, Surya Mitchell, and Fred White. The project grew out of a workshop which the musicians presented at the 2007 Maine Fiddle Camp inMontville, Maine, called The Essential Dance Tune Repertoire. As explained in the liner notes, “Any musical tradition has a core repertoire which experienced players are expected to know.” Attendees of the aforementioned workshop encouraged the recording of the tunes – most of them have been recorded previously and in some cases frequently, but until now there has not been a definitive collection exclusively representing the classics. “Definitive” must be qualified: originally 200 tunes were identified as candidates, but practical considerations required editing the list down to 53. Most of the tunes are presented in sets of three or four, for a total of 22 tracks, making over an hour and seven minutes of music! 
most prolific living (or otherwise) composer of contra dance tunes, has arranged with Great Meadow Music to have them become the official publisher of his work. They will handle wholesale distribution of his 13 tune books, and six CD’s, as well as any subsequent books or recordings, or licensing of his music.
