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Celtic Appalachian music? You are never too old to learn something new, and before I listened to Steve and Ruth Smith's An Appalachian Winter, I had never conceived of Celtic Appalachian stylings as a musical possibility. Yet there it is, a cool genre overflowing with the intense beauty of strings and flutes. Married partners Steve and Ruth Smith have been playing together for over 30 years, and their marriage of hammered dulcimer (Ruth) and guitar (Steve) creates magical results. Not alone on An Appalachian Winter, Steve and Ruth are joined by Ryan Smith (percussion), Nancy Schneeloch-Bingham (flute & pennywhistle), and Liz Rose (Celtic harp).

For me, the offering is all about gorgeously interwoven, homespun instrumentals, providing beautiful organic colors and earthy textures. This is a new age/folk hybrid, lightly tossed with Celtic flourishes. The acoustics demonstrate appropriate reverb, which gives all instruments, particularly the hammered dulcimer, more depth and breadth.

The cover features a photo of Steve and Ruth's log cabin home in western North Carolina, a curl of smoke rising from the stone chimney. You want to be there, laughing by the hearth, and kicking back to hear Ruth, Steve, and their friends make excellent music as winter dusk turns to dark in the snow-brushed mountains. Every track is lovely, but I particularly enjoyed the flute counterpoint and elegant dulcimer strokes on Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, the playfulness of Ruth Smith's Snow Angels, and the buoyant pleasures of The Cherry Tree Carol Medley.

Come, pull on your parka, shearling-lined boots, and warmest gloves. We're hiking over the mountains to the cabin of Steve and Ruth, to the place where the beautiful Celtic Appalachian music can be heard wafting up the chimney on a cold winter's night. Embrace An Appalachian Winter and savor the sweetness that the marriage of hammered dulcimer and guitar happily yields.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2008)

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From the liner notes:

Ruth Smith: hammered dulcimer, piano, keyboard synthesizer
Steve Smith: guitar
Ryan Smith: percussion
Nancy Schneeloch-Bingham: flute and pennywhistle
Liz Rose: Celtic harp

Produced by Steve and Ruth Smith
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Steve and Ruth Smith at Cabin Cove Studio on Snake Mountain, NC
Cover Photo: Steve and Ruth's home in western North Carolina
CD tray photo: View from Steve and Ruth's front porch


From the Website:

The peaceful beauty of an Appalachian winter is captured here with gentle instrumental music featuring hammered dulcimer and guitar along with flute, pennywhistle, Celtic harp and percussion in a special collection of songs for the Christmas season.

Includes three original pieces written by Ruth: "An Appalachian Winter", "Winter's Finale", "Snow Angels"

Steve and Ruth have been playing music together for over 30 years. From their home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, they have performed their Celtic Appalachian music extensively in the U.S. from North Carolina to Hawaii. They have also been cultural music representatives of the Appalachian region touring abroad in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Canada.

Ruth plays the hammered and Appalachian mountain dulcimers with Steve supporting on fingerstyle acoustic guitar, clawhammer banjo, and vocals. Steve and Ruth are two-time recipients of a North Carolina Arts Council grant.

Steve and Ruth Smith

An Appalachian Winter

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Track List