Description
Dale has been designing, making and performing on the Hammered Dulcimer since 1991. She lives in the mountains of Maleny in South East Queensland. Dale made her hammered dulcimer, Appalachian dulcimer and bowed psaltery that are played on the recording.
CD REVIEW by Ian Dearden.
I have to confess – I’m a complete sucker for hammered dulcimer. There is something so immediately stately and elegant about it thatinstantly transports me back down the years. Then there’s the bowed psaltery.
The first time I saw (and heard) one of those was in an afternoon/evening jam session on the back deck of a ferry between Ireland and France, and the magic of that experience has been forever seared across my brain.
So here is a whole album from Dale Jacobsen, one of Australia’s leading dulcimerists (hammered and Appalachian) and she plays bowed psaltery.
This album of (mainly) traditional tunes and tunes written ‘in the tradition”, showcase Dale’s stunning talents on both dulcimers and bowed psaltery. She doesn’t do it all on her own – there is excellent support from John Wight and Doug Eaton on guitars, Elizabeth Dawson on bowed psaltery and descant recorder, Sue Hunkin on bowed psaltery and John McGregor on bodhran. Between Dale and her partner Doug, they made all the dulcimers, bowed psalterys and most of the guitars used on the album. They were presumably also involved in tuning the grand total of 196 strings required to record the CD (beautifully undertaken at Maleny’s Highland Recording Studios by Herrin Larkin).
Credit must also go to the Caloundra City Council for their financial support for this project. This is music for the heart and the soul, and is a testament to the talent of all involved, but especially to Dale. May there be more, and more, and more!
