With "Hugs & Kisses", Ralf Kleemann presents his third album with music for the Celtic harp. Most of the tracks, which are generously enriched with solo parts, were composed during various journeys and concert tours throughout Europe.
On this album there are musette waltzes, an Irish love song, a tango-mélange, as well as a Scottish presto allegro, originally a pipe tune. The title track, "Hugs & Kisses," is a little suite in four parts. And wasn't there a ghost track...?
"Tides" is Ralf Kleemann's second solo album, entirely comprised of his own compositions.
12 pieces, new and of their own kind, display the full character of the Celtic harp. "Tides" was inspired by the Irish Atlantic coast, in whose vicinity Ralf Kleemann lived for five years.
»The twelve original compositons of Irish and Breton nature make you feel like sitting right at the Atlantic coast. Somewhere beyond the ocean lies the land of prophecy, youth, and immortality. ...
Who knows what happens when Ralf Kleemann will have passed the number of his harp strings in years!«
With "Phrydotia", Ralf Kleemann presented his debut album with some of his own compositions, improvisations and arrangements of traditional music.
"I was alone with my harp, the room, as well as the medieval statues in the walls, the ancient arcs. The whole scenery looked at me, and at times, the silence between the notes seemed louder and more powerful than any sound."
»The pieces have strong themes and well balanced structures, which at times are almost hypnotic. Ralf Kleemann is an agile player who commands a beautiful tone from his instrument.«
Sounding Strings, Scotland
Titles and Samples
1 - Personent Hodie | 2 - Blues für Janet | 3 - Butterfly Jig | 4 - Promenade | 5 - Phrydotia I | 6 - Breakfast with Sokrates | 7 - Treechild | 8 - Son Ar C´histr | 9 - Cyprianum | 10 - The Breezer I | 11 - The Breezer II | 12 - Phrydotia II
Total Time 55:42
Price per item: 15.- EUR (2 CDs for 25.- EUR, 3 CDs for 35.- EUR).
Free shipping within Germany, otherwise 4.- EUR.
The German Folk Promotion Association (Deutscher Folk-Förderpreis) and the Tanz- und Folk-Festival Rudolstadt published a CD in 1995 on which the 'Trio Modal' can be heard. Trio Modal was a three-harp ensemble with Ralf Kleeman, Jochen Vogel and Stefan Battíge.
