The first disc of this two-CD set captures Nova Scotia wunderkind fiddler Natalie MacMaster fronting a full band at a recent concert in downtown Ontario, while the second disc features a more intimate, traditional show at a local square dance five years ago in her native province.
Disc one showcases a clever variety of ten “songs,” which are essentially medleys of traditional songs peppered with newer compositions. There is an international flavor to this hour-plus performance: “The Farewell” and “Stepdancers Queue” hearken to Irish melancholia (she has toured with the Chieftains), while “Torna A Surriento” captures a Latin flair with Gordie Sampson’s “The Flamenco Fling”. The disc’s more universal, mixed-tempo variety of fiddle tunes prepares the uninitiated for the frenzied assortment of traditional reels and jigs rendered in MacMaster’s trademark Cape Breton style on the second disc.
The fan who has not seen MacMaster as she step-dances, jumps about, even moonwalks (seriously!) while playing her violin may not appreciate the Olympian athleticism she must have demonstrated in the second disc’s show. While disc one has a (probably seated) audience clapping between songs, disc two comes alive with the shouts of appreciative (probably dancing) fans and a rawer, scaled-down show and recording.
The more immediate feeling may also have something to do with the fact that the show was recorded in 1997, the year Rounder released her first US recording — long before her Grammy nomination for her 2000 album My Roots Are Showing.
