"Cluck Old Hen" & "What Wondrous Love is This", Ensemble Galilei

"Cluck Old Hen" & "What Wonderous Love is This", performed by Ensemble Galilei (www.egmusic.com), at the Institute of Musical Traditions (www.imtfolk.org), Takoma Park, Maryland, USA on December 21, 2012.
For many years, Ensemble Galilei has presented their annual Solstice concert to full houses in the Great Hall at Saint John's College in Annapolis. IMT is delighted to be able to bring the show to Takoma Park for the first time. The group includes DC's own Sue Richards on harp and IMT favorite Hanneke Cassel on fiddle, along with Kathryn Montoya on recorders, whistle, oboe, Jackie Moran on percussion, Ryan McKasson on fiddle and viola, and Carolyn Anderson Surrick on viola de gamba.
Ensemble Galilei is made up of some of the best Scottish, Irish, and Early music specialists in the US. But that's not all. What sets them apart is the extraordinary communication between the musicians. A kind of communication that only happens when the people on stage have been playing together for decades. This group has played across the country and back again, and they have earned their reputation as one of the finest crossover groups in the nation. And imagine, a Winter Solstice Concert on
the Solstice! Music to heat the darkest night.
"Aside from the ensemble's good musicianship and wonderful way with the myth-evoking, gentle melancholy of Celtic music, the most striking feature was the obvious pleasure the players took in what they were doing." - Ottawa Citizen
Sound: Dave Eisner, Dave Richardson, Jim Batchelder
Camera: Kathie Lillie, Laura Christoplos, Dick Tufts, Ralph Lillie
Editing: Ralph Lillie
© 2012 Institute of Musical Traditions

[@jaredoaks]

“What Wondrous Love” took my breath away. Beautiful playing, with a profound sense of time and space.

[@grizzlycomrie]

Unusual rendition of this ole time classic. Love it.

[@justforever96]

To be pedantic, I think without any vocals this should technically be called "Captain Kidd". That's the name of the tune, only someone set the hymn "Wondrous Love" to the older tune. But like "Amazing Grace" (actually "New Britain") it's probably a lost cause and we should just accept that fact that de facto they have become "Amazing Grace" and "Wondrous Love", even when performed without the words that people came to associate with them (come to think of it, even the Sacred Harp calls it "Wondrous Love". But the Shenandoah Harmony calls it "Captain Kidd", since it's with a different set of lyrics: ruclips.net/video/BKY9vRjK8FM/видео.html).
New Britain (Sacred Harp 45): ruclips.net/video/d0alrV2eRnM/видео.html
(A different version of "Amazing Grace" set to a different tune, if anyone is curious: ruclips.net/video/D9mcP6QVKJA/видео.html)