FSGW audiences fondly recall the annual visit by Nowell Sing We Clear, who last toured four years ago. Since then, Meridian has carried on the same tradition of holiday concerts for FSGW weaving together the most beautiful music and themes of Christmas together with much older Winter Solstice traditions. (Here’s a sample from their 2016 concert.)
This year they bring their third CD, for which FSGW program chair Mike Livingston was invited to write an intro for the liner notes: "Colin de la Barre and Olivia Gale are two bright morning stars rising in New England, shining fresh harmonies on timeless material in the spirit of Roberts & Barrand, Windborne, and the Johnson Girls. With their strong and sweet voices, Colin's riveting arrangements, and Olivia's just-right dusting of guitar, the pictures they paint can be shiny (The Farthest Field), dark (The Castle of Dromore, from their debut CD Out Along the Headlands), or cozy (the Copper Family Christmas Song from their seasonal CD Joy, Health, Love, and Peace); they can be intensely personal (Follow That Road) or touching on themes of sustainability (Roger Bryant's Cornish Lads) and social justice (Olivia's original, Who Will Stand For You). But especially, their sound is the sound of hope: whether the spark of hope is lighting the words of John Renbourn's Wexford Lullaby or John Kirkpatrick's Chariots or Alouette Iselin's Until the Dark Time Ends, when Meridian sings the poetry of hope, you believe it.
Cosponsored by the Office of Historic Alexandria and FSGW, this is the December concert in the Alexandria After Work concert series held in the heart of Old Town at 6 pm on the second Friday of each month. Take the free trolley that runs every 15 minutes from the King Street Metro station! At the Lyceum, 201 S. Washington Street 22314. $5/members free. Cash bar.
Copyright 2018 The Folklore Society of Greater Washington
