Chad McAnally - Ann Heymann's Measure

This piece I composed in honor of my mentor and friend Ann Heymann. Ann along with her husband Charlie, are pioneers of the revival of the Gaelic harp and continue their ground breaking work to the present.
This piece uses an older idea of composition, primary the idea of a "measure"- a repeated phrase or chord progression on which variations are built. Similar composition techniques are found in the ap Huw manuscript (Welsh harp manuscript from early 1600's but an anthology of much older pieces) and in the Ceòl Mòr of the Highland Bagpipes, or the Ground Bass, found it Baroque music. To this foundation, I added modal transpositions, some counterpoint and areas of improvisation, all based on the harmonic ground work of these older approaches.
I did four takes of this piece for 'Of Bards and Beggars. This is take 2, but not the version we chose for the album.
Recorded and filmed at Wild Sound Studios in Minneapolis, MN. For more information on this music, please check out my new website: https://ceadachharps.weebly.com/