Recordings of traditional Celtic music, even in France where this one originates, are abundant. A certain number of musicians from the world of Baroque music, from which the core of the comes, have explored the connections between Baroque music and popular dances, producing Baroque-styled collections of dance music, even for Scottish and Irish examples. Here, the accomplishes something new. The group credits itself for "arrangements," but that is not quite the right word; what one hears involves a considerable amount of improvisation from the traditional musicians the has added for this project. That, in itself, is interesting; this is an unusual collection of musicians, although there are antecedents in the world of what is now known as chamber folk, and even running back to the Breton musician . There is one song in Breton, some in Gaelic, and some in English. To these American ears, the Irish and Scots English of soprano and tenor , the former French and the latter American, is convincing, the former perhaps a trifle more so. (Speakers of Gaelic and Breton may have their own ideas.) Sample a track like for an idea. The contents tend toward lyrical songs rather than dances, and the musical responses to the texts are sensitive and subtle. The real attraction is in these settings, which resist any attempt to classify them as folk or classical, and the album, with fine studio sound, is of considerable interest to fans of both genres. ~ James Manheim