|
|
"Of the many musical groups performing today, very few can be called unique. After Class is one of the few which fits that description."
So says Bobby Horton of this classy Alabama-based group, which consists of Rob Angus on hammered dulcimer, Brant Beene on guitar and mandolin, and Mark Weldon on violin, guitar, mandolin, and cello. After Class more than lives up to Horton's enthusiastic endorsement. Their original arrangements and playing on "Hues of Blues and Greys" are characterized by what Horton calls "a style and emotion that make a 'ho-hum' tune come to life. They almost seem to breathe together as they perform...."
Because so many songs from the era were sung by both Confederate and Union troops (occasionally with different sets of lyrics), After Class has chosen to record their selections as instrumentals, thus emphasizing the shared musical traditions of the North and South. Fourteen songs are included in this recording. Twelve are period pieces; two are modern tunes. All are guaranteed to carry you back to a time in our history when music was not only part of everyday life but also a powerful means of expressing the most heartfelt of emotions.
Writing in the December 1997 online edition of Civil War Times, Jim Kushlan describes After Class's music as incorporating "elements of Scots-Irish music, bluegrass, swing, rock, jazz, even classical music, as on 'The Battle of Shiloh Hill.' The effect is powerful. Civil War standards reemerge as haunting melodies that transcend changing musical tastes."
If you don't think you need one more collection of period standards, think again. You haven't really heard them until you've heard them performed by After Class.
|
Included on this CD are:
|
|
For information on ordering, please contact:
OTHER RECORDINGS BY AFTER CLASS:
