Product Description

From the thick of the traditional music scene, April Verch's fiddling is emerging as a wonderful breath of fresh air. Though she has deep roots in the fiddling of her native Ottawa Valley, on VERCHuosity April steps out in a big way and weds her musical world to the world of other fiddle traditions. The finest points of all these are revealed in this wonderful collection of tunes. Here are inspired takes on French Canadian, southern Appalachian, Scottish and Brazilian melodies, along with fine original compositions that righteously tear the house down. April's music takes precisely the right kinds of chances and succeeds brilliantly. More than all that, VERCHuosity is just a big bunch of fun. Every once in a long while you'll run across a gifted artist whose creative energies slide right through all the technical stuff and touch down directly into the colorful, passionate expression of a very personal story. April Verch is definitely one of those players. - Bruce Molsky

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This recital was recorded when April Verch, a Canadian Grand Masters and Canadian Open fiddle champion, was only 22 years old. It reveals a maturing artist with a strong technique and a burgeoning musical imagination. She was born in the Ottawa Valley and was performing on the radio as a fiddler and step dancer before her 10th birthday. Her playing reflects Appalachian, Quebecois, Cape Breton, and other North American, Acadian, Anglo and Celtic traditions, but rhythms borrowed from South America and Stephane Grappelli's Parisian "Manouche Swing" add a playful, worldly sophistication. The tunes include a selection of Verch's originals, plus Canadian reels, a French contredanse, a treatment of a Brazilian choro by Jacob do Bandolim, and even "The Old Rugged Cross." The accompaniment is deferential, which permits the precise bowing and tonalities of the fiddler to reign supreme, but Bob DeAngelis's beautifully realized double-reed solos also make a strong impression. --Christina Roden