iSound

A uniquely dark, gentle, austere, strikingly powerful disc of distant intimacy, cold warmth, and other oxymorons of the borders linking opposites.

--Stereophile

The astonishing purity of the vocal music heard here is beyond description; it displays both virtuosity and utter simplicity. The marriage of voice and fiddle heard on some of these selections seems magical, but it goes beyond that; the Norwegian word 'trolsk' (troll-like) might describe it better. The immense capacity for poetry which is possible in the music of the 'hardingfele' (hardanger fiddle) has as its source a profound simplicity and stalwartness. The drone-based music of this tradition seems to stand outside historical time as far as Europe is concerned. It arose in northern Europe in the seventeenth century, but only in Norway did it develop and find a solid place for itself in a unique folk culture. The music seems very ancient, yet it is really the product of the modern age (17-19th centuries)....