Spirit of the Celtic Violin

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ooking back, this entire project began in 1999, when I wrote a piece called "Return to Me". It had a Celtic, yet almost Civil War feel to it, with a tinge of American Indian. It's hard to explain, but it seemed to remind people of these three things all at once. I included this piece on a little 1999 Christmas CD that my husband and I put together for family and friends. The response was so encouraging. Everyone suggested that I write more of this type of music.

ell, after the New Millennium, I decided to sit down and write more. Not knowing where this violin music would lead me, I simply wrote for the sake of writing. My new collection of pieces began to take me further and further down a Celtic path, and I noticed that each piece seemed to weave itself into the last, until a concept was born. I found it to be unique in the way that it was Celtic, but also reminded me of the early American influence on the music that was carried far over the seas from Ireland and Scotland before the Civil War. Not quite Appalachian, but easily adaptable. Not quite Traditional, but very reminiscent of Traditional. Not quite classical violin, but not really fiddling. Simply inbetween. I didn't allow it to worry me that it was not truly this or that, I just let it happen the way it happened. This was unusual for me, in the sense that when I was writing music for the Country music industry, being "commercial" seemed to be the main priority. When trying to appeal to the masses and trying to gear one's writing towards being radio friendly, one can get lost from being honest and authentic. This was the one thing I would not allow myself to do while writing this music. I didn't care if this music was commercial or not. My main objective was to let the music take me on it's own journey...

nd so it did. I was thrilled to touch upon Ireland, Scotland, and early America. I found that I was being led back even farther at times, to an ancient time. A time when Druids and standing stones encompassed England. This didn't worry me, either. I just let it happen. I became enthralled with reading the history of these lands, their cultures, their legends, their folklore. The more I read, the farther the music took me. In my reading of the Celts, I grew to understand their oneness with nature, and how important a role it played in their lives and in their beliefs. I wanted to include the sounds and emotions of nature in my music. Summer fields filled with birds and bees, sea birds above ocean shores, twinkling stars, enchanted forests, nights of frolic among the elves, ravens swooping and sweeping through the skies, and even Druids keeping watch over the sacred groves of the ancient oaks.

hen my collection came to what felt like the end of a chapter, I titled it "Spirit of the Celtic Violin". I knew that in the times to come, I would be compelled to write another chapter, and the journey would continue....

nd so it did.

Arlene Faith
Spirit of the Celtic Violin

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