Contreras/ Shank-Hagedorn Duo - At Home & Abroad

If "home" is Minnesota, and "abroad" is transcontinental, reaching across historical eras, then At Home and Abroad is aptly named. A captivating and varied (not to say ravishing and sprightly) collection of music for violin/viola and guitar, the album features works dedicated to the Shank-Hagedorn Duo by Alf Houkom, Javier Contreras, and David Lang; first time recordings of works by Ian Krouse and David Hahn; and the Duo's own arrangements of music by Maria Kalaniemi. For this release, violinist and violist Leslie Shank and guitarist Joseph Hagedorn have selected some favorite works from their past fifteen years of performances. The music is as wide-ranging as the Duo's interests, with influences from South American and Finnish folk music to John Dowland and "Pop Goes the Weasel." Among the works are a belated wedding gift from David Lang to the married duo partners; a serenade by Alf Houkom that simply celebrates the joy of making music together; a luminous- almost ambient- arrangement of Dowland's 'Frog Galliard' by Ian Krouse that Brian Eno would find hard to beat; and David Hahn's W is for Weasel.