by Catherine L. Tully

Artist: Maidens IV
Album: "Four Aflame"
Year produced: 2006

Four-part harmony.....and......four sisters! Maidens IV is made up of Havilah, Heather, Abigail and Tabitha. Originally a duo of two sisters named, you guessed it, Maidens II, the sisters have all joined forces and combined their considerable talents to bring out the best in the Celtic and Folk style music that they play.

An explosion of strings greets the ears with the first track on the CD which jumps right in, highlighting the considerable talent of the musicians. Next, on "Lark In The Morning" you begin to hear the pretty harmonies these ladies can form together as they hop and skip their way through a complex and lovely song.

Their last CD, "Charm and Fire" (Maidens III) showed the ladies to have mastered the instruments they play, and now they are tackling even more complex arrangements--truly an amazing whirl of sounds and rhythms here, and each track has something unique to offer.

The voices, although still sweet and youthful, have a new maturity to them that brings an added dimension to the sounds they bring forth. Please don't miss track 11, "Fiddlers Magic," for the obvious reason....although, in truth, you don't need to get that far into the CD to note the skill these ladies play with. The title of the album really brings to life what is going on here--"Four Aflame"--for the fire can be heard in the instruments that these lovely ladies command.

If you know anything about music--this CD will blow you away. And even if you don't--it's still a darn good listen! These ladies are a favorite of mine.

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Catherine L. Tully is a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in the arts. She has written for American Style and Classical Singer, among others and reviews music for Marc Gunn's Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. You can reach her through her photography website at www.moonbeamdigital.com.

Labels: cd_review_2007

Posted by Marc Gunn, Friday, March 16, 2007.
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