Description
Acclaimed fiddlers Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith unveil their debut duo album, Morning Of May, a record that explores the rich possibilities of two fiddles in conversation within the English instrumental tradition.
The pairing of two fiddles is a familiar sound in many folk traditions, but it has been heard less frequently in English traditional music. Morning of May, a new album from Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, sets out to discover what happens when two fiddlers meet with this repertoire: taking turns carrying the melody, as the other takes a "seconding" role, weaving harmony and rhythm around the tune, elevating it and subtly reshaping the ground beneath it.
Sweeney and Smith immersed themselves in a wide range of manuscripts and tune collections, delving into some of the more obscure sources. Within these archives, they found tunes that felt unexplored and rich with possibility. Some tunes arrived as complete hidden gems. Others required some restoration, their rough edges gently smoothed through the process of playing. Others were tiny fragments, inspiring almost total reimaginings. Alongside these old tunes sit a few original compositions by Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, written in the same spirit of curiosity and continuity that informs their approach to archive material.
Morning of May is a powerful and poignant recognition that no musical tradition exists in isolation. The album embraces the important reality that English traditional music has always been shaped by movement, encounters and exchange. Throughout the album, listeners might hear traces of Scottish, Irish, French or Scandinavian influence - not as external additions, but as part of the fabric of the tradition itself.
Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith's music celebrates England's rich heritage. Not an imagined purity, but a living tradition: a repertoire whose strength lies precisely in its ability to welcome new influences while retaining its own distinct character. The result is an album that feels both ancient and immediate. Rather than presenting a definitive statement, Morning of May marks the beginning of an exploration.
