Award-winning Celtic harpist and storyteller, Jeff Stockton, is willing his listeners out of hibernation with his newest release, Between Two Lights.
The Water Valley musician is getting ready to bring his eleven-track compilation to the Boris Roubakine Recital Hall for a CD release on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. for an evening he calls ‘Once Upon A Midwinter’.
As he gears up for the release, Stockton reflects on what sets his latest release apart from his 2010 album, Beneath the Boughs.
“As I was finishing my last recording, these new pieces began to come out…it’s fun to play with some faster pieces and to play with different rhythms,” said Stockton, adding that his newest release has a “bright feel to it”.
The CD features seven tracks with vocals and four instrumentals, held up by Stockton’s Celtic harp stylings, rounded out with cello, percussion and violin. The album is the final recording with the harp he has been playing with for the last two decades.
Stockton explained that the Celtic harp is designed with an “incredible tension, literally made to pull (itself) apart over time”.
The theme of his newest release is a celebration of midwinter: ‘songs and stories to call back the sun’.
While he works on upcoming showcases for Between Two Lights, Stockton will be working at getting radio play with Celtic and world music stations internationally; he also keeps busy with a long line of school performances and workshops.
He will also be finishing his upcoming storytelling release, Once Upon A Midwinter, which will be released in 2014; the music man was the recipient of an international ‘Storytelling World’ award in 2012.
Tickets to his upcoming CD release are available at jeffstockton.ca
