Having spent my formative years in St. John’s, Newfoundland, I was very excited to introduce Ofra to this amazing Canadian province – one of the rare places to which her career had not yet taken her. Ofra has fallen in love with the beauty of the Newfoundland, the spirit of the people, and the rare mystique of the culture. When we finished the Back to Bach album in the summer of 2019, we took a trip to explore some of the island.
In the time following, Ofra has fallen in love with the beauty of the land, the spirit of the people, and the rare mystique of the culture. We have chosen a variety of material from unknown sources, to music borrowed from other lands, to songs and dances by some of Newfoundland’s most treasured writers.
As we all combined our efforts to develop this album, in isolation, we were thrilled with the contributions of our extraordinary guests: Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett, Heather Bambrick, Amanda Cash, Kelly- Ann Evans, Fergus O’Byrne, Kendel Carson, and Maureen Ennis. With the guidance and contribution of Bob Hallett, we were able to compile a selection of songs, jigs, and reels that Ofra felt she really connected with and that told a story of what she has come to know and love about the province. I’m sure the time will come when she feels there is more of the story to tell. But this is what we have come up with, for now.
Mike Herriott St. John’s, Newfoundland, Summer of 2020
Click here for the album on Apple Music
Label: ANALEKTA, 2020
