review - Folk Band Spinning Wheel - Irische Musik aus Österreich

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Herzlichen Dank, dass Sie sich Zeit nehmen unser neues Album anzuhören!
Die Präsentations-Tour umfasst 28 Konzerte mit Stationen im Orpheum Wien (25. Oktober 2024), Wiener Metropoldi (9. November 2024) und Literaturhaus Graz (18. Jänner 2025).
Auf dieser Seite finden sie erste Reaktionen auf eine Sneak Preview des Albums "Handspun", die Liner Notes mit Informationen zum Inhalt und Rezensionen zu früheren Alben.
ERSTE REAKTIONEN AUF "HANDSPUN"

Lovely mix of songs and the arrangements are very cool! Spinning Wheel have once again, managed to create something that feels timeless yet contemporary. Their choice of repertoire strikes a perfect balance of old and new, with songs such as the newly composed “Awkward Annie” by Kate Rusby to the Irish traditional music staple, “Nead na Lachan”. A sure highlight of the album are Danika’s vocals as she brings a fresh and enchanting quality to each song. With its thoughtful arrangements of songs, powerful vocals and rich instrumentation, this album is a must-listen for those who truly appreciate Celtic music.
Susan Ní Cholmáin, Musician (IRL)
 
It’s been about 25 years since my last visit to meet Bernhart and Danika Ruso. I was host of an internet Celtic music program and was very impressed with their music, but time has shaped their talents into gemstones! I’m really impressed at the vocals and language ability. Their skill, soul, deep commitment to the music and professional production is nothing short of amazing!
Peter Damashek, World Music Radio (US)
 
It is wonderful to hear the languages of the Celtic nations being sung so clearly and heartily. The recording, mixing and standard of mastering is done to a very high quality. I enjoyed listening to the twelve pieces and from my experience of performing Irish and Scottish music I would say that this recording will be very well received internationally. Good luck with the project!
Patrick McMullan, Singer Songwriter (IRL)
 
With this new album, the group shows us all its maturity in playing, expression and creativity. A diversity of melodies, styles and instruments that make all the originality of this new opus. Simply close your eyes and listen, you will see captivating landscapes of serenity appear. With this new musical journey, Danika, Bernhart & Fabian mark all their difference. Each of the titles seem meticulously embroidered as the finesse of the playing is expressive and the guest musicians bring a very particular sensitivity. It is important to salute this desire of the group to explore new musical horizons and especially new languages ​​that make Spinning Wheel a universal group that goes beyond musical boundaries. An album to listen to and to absolutely own, for my part it never leaves my car. A Big Bravo!
Djamel O'Touïl, Festival des Légendes (FR)

Just last night, I listened to all the tracks. Traditional and classy, with modern musical sophistication and highly trained techniques. The transparent female voice is beautiful. Perfect listening for drinking Guiness or Sake in good company, for driving or bedtime! Love it really. A role model for me as a musician.
Tetsuya Kamogawa, Artist (JPN)
 
It warms the hearth to have such a sweet collection of songs from the Celtic Fringe. It’s also lovely to hear so many Gaelic inflections and reflections. A fine honest body of work that has a place on every shelf fit for a fireplace. Bailiúchán maith d’amhráin agus chuimhneacháin. Tá sé sin go deas.
Shane Ó Fearghail, Singer-Songwriter (IRL)

Das rein akustische Album „Handspun“ von Spinning Wheel erinnert mit seinen reduzierten, fein gesponnenen Arrangements, dem authentischen Gesang von Danika Ruso und der spürbaren Spielfreude an die frühen Alben von Clannad. In einer Zeit von KI und singenden Avataren weiß ich Musik, die wie diese von echten Herzen kommt, wirklich zu schätzen!
Eva Woska-Nimmervoll, Vienna Songwriting Association (AT)


"Handspun" is a collection of songs from various traditions across Great Britain and Ireland, partly sung in various Celtic languages.  Danika's wonderful bright, clear and pure voice is refreshing and gives these folk songs life and energy. The arrangements vary from song to song and are a pleasure to listen to. I want to hear more!
Máire Ní Charra, Irish Language Teacher (IRL)

This band skilfully blends the enchanting sounds of Celtic and Irish music with the authentic tones of traditional instruments. Their performances are defined by the powerful and evocative voice of Danika Ruso, which captures the spirit of these ancient songs. With each song, they transport the audience to the misty hills of Ireland and the rich traditions of Celtic culture, offering a deeply immersive and soulful musical experience.
Bernhard Mayr, A&B film- und video production (AT)

The Spinning Wheel's new album features songs from regions with a rich Celtic tradition: Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Cornwall. The trio's sound – with guest contributions on four tracks – can be characterized by sensitive arrangements and the soulful, captivating vocals of singer Danika Ruso. Their music has the potential to capture the attention of even more discerning listeners, those who may approach the genre of "Celtic music" with scepticism.
Ondřej Volčík, Dalach Music (CZ)

What an incredible journey through Great Britain and Ireland! I instantly fell in love with the songs from Wales and Cornwall, having never heard music from those regions before. I'm captivated by the singer's angelic voice and the unique instruments you use to give your music such a distinctive flavour!
Ferenc Bakos (HUN)

In their latest release, the artists once again prove why they are beloved in the Austrian folk music scene. Each track feels like a journey through tradition and emotion, with the kind of craftsmanship that only true lovers of this music can achieve. Simply put, this is another masterpiece that showcasing their skill in blending the old with the new in a way that feels fresh yet familiar.
Johann Pokora, Record Collector Dreams (AT)
 
Spinning Wheel legt eine großartige Produktion vor. Der Name „Handspun“ ist schon Programm, es ist allerbeste Handarbeit, verschiedene musikalische Fäden werden in feinster Weise gesponnen. Schon bei unzähligen Konzerten konnte man sich überzeugen, die Musiker beherrschen ihre Instrumente meisterlich und verwöhnen das Ohr mit immer wieder neuen Klangfarben. Wäre es eine reine Instrumentalaufnahme, ich wäre bereits äußerst begeistert. Aber dann kommt noch diese wunderbar elfenartige Stimme dazu. Und ich stelle mir die Frage, was ist die Steigerung von „äußerst begeistert“? Spinning Wheel versteht es seine Zuhörer auf eine abwechslungsreiche emotionale Reise mitzunehmen. Der Rhythmus ausgelassener Lieder fährt in die Tanzbeine, dann folgt eine berührende Ballade und man wird von schönster Melancholie umgarnt. So wie im Leben spielt es sich auch bei dieser Produktion ab, auf den Regen folgt die Sonne, auf die Nacht der Tag, auf die Traurigkeit der Frohsinn, auf die Dissonanz die Harmonie. Dieses musikalische Meisterwerk verdient eine Standing Ovation! Mit großer, sehr großer Freude beGUTachtet von Thomas M. Schallaböck
 Thomas M. Schallaböck, Alte Musik Salzburg (AT)
 
Handspun hat mich sofort fasziniert. Tolle Aufnahmen, super Arrangements, instrumental und gesanglich perfekt ausgeführt und die gewohnten High-Level-Leistungen der MusikerInnen. Danikas Stimme entführt mich in jedem Song an den Ort der Handlung. Kommt sofort auf meine Playlist.
Norbert Suchy, Musikschuldirektor (AT)
 
Danke für die traumhafte Musik der neuen CD! Die Stimmung voll Kraft, Harmonie und Mystik nimmt mich mit auf eine gedankliche Reise zu den schottischen Highlands mit ihren schroffen, unwirklichen Felsformationen und zu den unglaublich faszinierenden Küstenzügen Irlands. Die geheimnisvolle Atmosphäre dieser einzigartigen Gegenden und die perfekt damit harmonierende Musik beflügelt die Sinne und entführt den Zuhörer in eine wundervolle Fantasiewelt. Ein Musikerlebnis für alle Generationen!
Ulrike Rödl-Rosner, Kulturamt Neumarkt (DE)
 
 
Ich habe umfänglicher in Euer Handspun reingehört und kann dazu auf Anhieb sagen: - melodisch gut, rhythmisch gut. Die Lieder nehmen einen auch als Kulturfremden sofort mit rein. Alles klingt echt. Was mir besonders daran gefällt: Jedes Instrument kommt zu seinem Recht und in seiner musikalischen Qualität zum Tragen. Die Stimme fügt sich voll und angenehm darin ein.  Viel Glück mit Eurer CD!
Christa Sütterlin, Kunsthistorikerin (SUI)
 
Wie immer tolle Nummern, die einem gleich auch zum Mittanzen auffordern. Man fühlt sich gleich nach Irland versetzt. Unbedingt anhören und genießen.
Wolfgang Koinig, Media Con (AT)
 
Die Musik auf Handspun ist gleichzeitig kraftvoll und feinfühlig. Mix und Sound sind klar und überzeugend. Sie hat Flügel! Glückwunsch zum neuen Album!
 Bruno Assenmacher, Ethno-Percussionist (DE)
LINER NOTES

Danika Ruso: vocals, accordion, harp, kalimba, shruti box
Bernhart Ruso: nyckelharpa, percussion
Fabian Zechmeister: guitar, bouzouki, flute, whistles, vocals, banjo

Guest musicians:
Bruno Assenmacher: percussion (6)
Stephan „Stoney“ Steiner: nyckelharpa (8), fiddle (11)
Isabella Krapf: harmonica (10)

Special thanks to Annie Kissack, the Manx bard, for her dedication to
preserving the Manx language, providing invaluable resources to help
others learn and appreciate it, and for her helpful pronunciation guide
of 'Ushag Veg Ruy

All songs traditional, arranged by Spinning Wheel except:
“Medhel An Gwyns“ written by Mike O’Connor
“Stretched On Your Grave“ lyrics anonymous, music by Kated Rusby
“Awkward Annie“ written by Kate Rusby
“Chì Mi Na Mòrbheanna“ written by John Cameron

Hè Mo Leannan (Hey My Sweetheart)
In this lighthearted and playful Scottish waulking song, a woman advises
her fellow waulkers to keep three boyfriends handy, just in case one
leaves. We have inverted the traditional verse and chorus arrangement in
our version.
“Love vanished, the union broke – I really don't care!“

Y Cwcw Fach
In this traditional song from Wales, a woman sends a cuckoo to her lover’s
home at the banks of the River Wnion to cheer him up with a song.
“Little cuckoo, if you see there someone weeping salty tears
Sing to him the song of spring, a song of hope to comfort him”

Chì Mi Na Mòrbheanna
This song in Scots Gaelic, written in 1856 by Highlander John Cameron,
expresses his joy and relief upon returning to his beloved homeland. It is
commonly known in English as "The Mist-Covered Mountains of Home”.
“I will have hospitality and love when I reach there
For that I would not trade tons of gold”

Nead na Lachan (The Duck’s Nest)
The chorus of this traditional Irish children's song is an example of port
a' bhéil (mouth music), made up of nonsense vocables. The melody is a
traditional Irish slip jig, the 'Foxhunter’s Jig'. A currach is a type of boat
unique to the west coast of Ireland.
“Nest of ducks in the moat, and I will send you out on the harbour
I will get a currach and a crew for you, and I will send you out on the harbour.
I will buy a fishing rod and line for you, and I will send you out on the harbour”

Medhel An Gwyns (Soft is the Wind)
Mike O’Connor wrote this beautiful haunting song for the series
'Poldark'. It is about the men, women and children working in the copper
and tin mines of Cornwall around 1800. Bal (Cornish: 'mine') maidens
were unmarried girls who processed the ore that was sent to the surface.
“Songs like the dreams that the bal maiden spins,
Weaving the song of the cry of the tin”

Hen Ferchetan (Old Maiden)
This Welsh song tells the story of an unmarried woman who repeatedly
loses her lovers to marriage. After her most recent heartbreak, she dresses
in satin and lace and goes to the town fair in search of a new suitor.
“All the old lovers have gone to the church, but there will be new potatoes
on the apple tree before Little Lisa from Hendre will marry”

Stretched on Your Grave
This song tells the story of a young man mourning the loss of his lover,
The lyrics are a slightly adapted translation of 'Táim sínte ar do thuama',
an anonymous 17th-century Irish poem. The melody voice was written by
English folk singer and songwriter Kate Rusby.
“My appletree, my brightness, ’tis time we were together,
For I smell of the earth and am worn by the weather”

Gaol Ise Gaol I (My Love is She)
A traditional waulking song from Scotland, in which a pregnant woman
talks about the father of her child.
“I am heavy with child. By no ordinary lad is my child, but by the
dark-haired hero, son of the Laid of the ships”

Witches Reel
The first two verses were mentioned in a contemporary account of
Scotland's first witch trial in 1590, One of the accused, Agnes Sampson,
confessed under torture to attending a gathering of 200 witches where
they danced and sang this song before meeting with the devil.
“Ring-a-ring-a-widdershins, loupin' lithely widdershins
Kilted coats and fleein' hair, Three times three.”

Ushag Veg Ruy (Little Red Bird)
A lullaby from the Isle of Man that tells the story of a little red bird
searching for the perfect place to rest.
“Did I not sleep last night on the top of the briar? And oh! Wretched was
my sleep!“

Awkward Annie
Kate Rusby wrote this upbeat song about a downbeat young man trying to
win a girl's favour by gifting her with farm animals, which she proceeds
to treat in a rather unconventional fashion.
“I gave to you a hen, you gave it back again, without its eggs, my Annie.
I gave to you a hare. You really didn't care, now it has no legs my Annie.”

White the Sheep
This is a rare example of a waulking song in English from the Isle of Skye.
It has been adapted for a traditional verse & chorus structure to make it
accessible for sing-alongs during waulking sessions. Danika wrote the
chorus with guidance from Christine Knox Chambers’ 1980 thesis paper
'Non-lexical Vocables in Scottish Traditional Music'.
“Sing the garden of the sea from whose flowers we won the dye,
Sing of sea-tang wild and free from our misty Isle of Skye.”

REVIEWS OF EARLIER RELEASES

Amazing voice, spacious arrangement, soaring melodies and an overall very nice natural vibe.
(Putumayo World Music Label, US)

Dipping into my Irish Heritage I am thrilled to add the delightful soundings of Spinning Wheel’s “Kells Water” featuring the heartful vocals of Danika to our Spotify Playlist. Find yourself transported into the sweet realm of Ireland, with its wondrously flowing green hills and countryside, then belly up with friends at the pub for a pint of Guinness while you soak in the luxurious sound of Kells Water.
(Jay Carney – Starbust Records, US)

"This new release is certainly up to the high standards established by the earlier Spinning Wheel collection. All but two of the tracks are traditional, all feature vocals by Bernhart’s wife Danika, and all are very tastefully arranged. As I noted in my reviews of both the Spinning Wheel and Smoky Finish CDs, the members of this band are all Austrian. Yet they seem to have a great affinity for pan-Celtic music, and I mean that in the sense of fondness for as well as skill in playing. Danika’s exquisite voice with some overdubbing provides a nice continuity across the entire album. The mix keeps her voice forward so the lyrics are very clear. Most of the songs feature at least one fair maiden, which adds to the sense of thematic consistency. The arrangements are sufficiently different for each track so that the overall effect is one of rich texture and certainly of varied rhythm. I caught a kalimba on ‘Emoton.’ The harp on ‘Ffarwel’ gives it a very stately feel. ‘In Aimsir’ includes a long instrumental bridge that is actually a traditional Irish tune called ‘Out in the Ocean.’ The hurdy-gurdy on ‘Murdered Brother’ is just a little scary. Markus adds his guitar work to Erich’s original tracks. Bernhart and guest artist Stephan Steiner play nyckelharpa; Danika and guests Peter Beinhofer and Marek Poledna play accordion; Klara Schiffermüller contributes fiddle to several tracks, as well.
Only five of the twelve tracks are actually in English. These include the title track (whose lyrics offer a clever twist on the more familiar ‘New York Girls’), a rollicking and rather light-hearted version of ‘Newry Highwayman,’ ‘The Lass of Glenshee,’ ‘Sixteen Come Next Sunday,’ and ‘Murdered Brother,’ one of the original Child ballads. Of the remaining songs, one is in French (the incredibly catchy ‘Deja Mal Mariee’—I found myself humming the tune after I’d listened to it just once). Two tracks are in Welsh (‘Dacw ‘Nghariad’ and ‘Ffarwel’); two are in Gaelic (‘In Aimsir Bhaint An Fheir’ and ‘Puirt-A-Beul’). One of the non-traditional tracks, ‘Tu Gitana,’ a waltz written by a Portuguese artist named Zeca Afonso, is in Galician. The other non-traditional track ‘Emoton,’ was composed by Finnish musicians Kari and Sirpa Reiman. There is more than enough good material here to provide you with many enjoyable hours of listening and maybe even a little dancing!"
(Donna Bird, Greenman Review)


"The distinctive and delightful sound of Spinning Wheel is a consequence of the utterly scintillating vocals provided by Bernhart’s wife Danika, the band’s tasteful acoustic arrangements, and their choice of traditional material. Selection 1999-2005 features fourteen tracks, running just over fifty minutes’ worth of music, selected from the band’s first three albums, The Spinning Wheel, This Time of the Year, and Live in Concerto. Danika Ruso is the primary vocalist. She also plays the accordion and tin whistle and does a bit of percussion work. While the liner notes describing the band are not in English, the CD insert includes a full set of song lyrics, and many of the songs are in English, including splendid arrangements of ‘Bruton Town’ and ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’. Three songs are in Gaelic, one is in Spanish (with a melody I recall from a very old Kingston Trio album), and one is in French. Danika handles all these languages quite well and has a delicate, melodious voice that is a pleasure to hear. The instrumentation complements, but does not overwhelm, the vocals. I particularly appreciated the use of hand drums. The CD also includes two instrumental tracks, medleys of dance tunes rendered quite beautifully."
(Donna Bird, Greenman Review)
Delicate arrangements and with a special ethereal vibe. The vocals are sublime and the instrumentals are absolutely wonderful.
(Heart Beat Records, US)

I absolutely love the delicacy of the vocals and the instrumentals are gorgeous.
(Heartbeat, Spotify Curator, UK)

A stunning atmospheric album featuring very clear and passionate vocals.
(Zoe Konez, Spotify Curator, UK)

I feel completely drawn in, the vocals in this song are absolutely beautiful.
(Lexi Brooks, Spotify Curator, US)

Stunning song performed by an emotional and very expressive voice and organic instrumental accompaniment, achieving an authentic sound and intense atmosphere.
(Caoba Records, Chile)

The combination of mesmerizing heartfelt vocals and magical guitar gives the music a wonderful flow. The song is an enticing listen right out of the gate.
(Underrated Records, US)

I was captured by the warm and elegant voice, very expressive and touching and the subtle guitar accompaniment.
(Raighes Factory, IT)

Your vocals are dazzling, I particularly enjoyed the simple backing to allow them to shine and take centre stage. The beautiful guitar that almost felt medieval — something you would hear in a period drama alongside the kick from the drum. This is really interesting music and something so totally unique.
(Shona Oliver, Spotify Curator, UK)

Meaningful and light-hearted lyrics delivered with delicate and lilting vocals which suit the entire charming vibe of the song.
(Renforshort, Spotify Curator, DE)

Especially the vocals are really amazing, very clean and professional performance.
(David, PlayListSubs, CZ)


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