Fromseier Rose
Contradiction
Nunora Records NUNR CD001; 55 minutes; 2003
Fromseier Rose consists of the duo of fiddler Ditte
Fromseier Mortenson, from the Danish island of Bornholm, and the Boston-raised pianist
Michael G. Rose. So why are they being reviewed on an Irish traditional music
site? Well, on this evidence, both have a profound feel for the Irish tradition
(and actually first met at the 2001 Copenhagen Irish festival) while the second
reason is somewhat simpler and consists in its entirety in the presence of
singer Niamh Parsons as a guest vocalist on three tracks. 
However,
the bulk of the album consists of instrumental duets between Ditte and Michael
coursing over a broad range of material. This includes a significant Northern
element featuring two tunes learnt from the Feldman/O’Doherty collaboration, The
Northern Fiddler, as well as Stormy Weather recorded by John Doherty
in the associated Bundle and Go collection, and a reel ascribed to the
Armagh fiddler Brendan McGlinchey. At the same time there’s an old Scottish
tune, Blue Bonnets over the Border, and a more modern one, Jennifer
Wrigley’s Rohan, all smattered with dashes of music from the Danish
tradition, Michael’s own compositions and pieces by musicians as varied as Jay
Unger and Michael McGoldrick.
While
sometimes reminiscent of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (who has himself, of course, a
great fondness for jazz) Michael G. Rose’s piano style synthesizes the European
and American jazz traditions with a dash of Latin music, a particular
inspiration being the Cuban pianist Bebo Valdez. All this serves as an
intriguing backdrop for Ditte’s gracious fiddle playing, the combination of
styles perhaps being most apparent on the duo’s interpretation of the air Taimse
im Chodlach. However, it has to be said that occasion there’s just too much
swing to her playing, as on Flax in Bloom, to be considered “pure drop”
traditional music.
Niamh’s
three songs offer their own counterpoint to the instrumental pieces. On After
Aughrim’s Great Disaster she sounds distinctly off-key in places and the
musical accompaniment is sometimes obtrusive. Richard Thompson and Dave
Swarbrick’s old Fairport Convention classic Crazy Man Michael is a
different matter altogether. Niamh resists any temptation to imitate Sandy
Denny and the piano work here is entirely apposite. The final song, the
Scottish Blantyre Explosion, however, she pulls a real tour de force
out of her song bag, producing an essay in expressive sensitivity, accompanied
by adroit and tasteful musicianship.
All told, on this evidence, Fromseier Rose are an intriguing combination and there’s much here to enjoy through repeated playing.
This is an original review by Geoff Wallis.
For
more information about the Michael and Ditte visit www.fromseierrose.com.