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Chris Caswell is one of the world’s finest players and makers of the Celtic harp. He is also a respected performer on the Scottish bagpipes, Irish flute and tinwhistle, and the bodhran.
Chris is a true Celtic bard, weaving a fierce beauty through intense playing and delight. As he plays, his music is informed by Wales, the Middle East, Latin America, the French countryside – anywhere from which his deep experience can move the listener towards the realm of resonance wherein the true heart abides.
"I deeply appreciate the quality … that I feel in every note. What a relief! It allows my heart to settle and open into the effect of the music on subtle levels, which I have found is not often the case with other Celtic music I have heard. I feel that for the first time I am able to connect with the finer sentiments of this music and it is very sweet indeed."
– L. H., Iowa, on Holy Wood
“When you play I find that dancer inside of myself and am dancing freely and naturally. Your music bypasses my mind, resonating with something more essential within me, much like reading ecstatic poetry.”
– R. C., California, on Chris’s live performance
"Chris Caswell is particularly versatile playing flute, penny-whistle, Scots harp and bodhran, the last a drum, and playing all well."
– Variety
HOLY WOOD (2001), Chris’s first solo album, is performed on his hauntingly beautiful Bronze-strung harp. It is a mix of the popular and eclectic from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England and France. CELTIC TIDINGS (1999) is Chris’s Christmas CD. Both feature Barry Phillips ..o, Deby Benton Grosjean on violin, and others.
He is on over thirty recordings, including Bonnie Rideout’s multi-award-winning GIVE ME ELBOW ROOM and Grammy-nominated KINDRED SPIRITS. Chris was a featured artist with Bonnie’s national A Scottish Christmas tour, and Live from the National Geographic.
Chris recorded three albums and toured North America and Europe with Robin Williamson and His Merry Band, beginning in 1976. In 1980 he formed Caswell Carnahan with Danny Carnahan (Wake the Dead) and recorded two albums (re-released in 1995).
He continually works with Bay Area artists as an audio engineer, and has produced and composed for film and broadcast video. A natural teacher, he has held harp retreats throughout the country, and taught at numerous music camps. He has a popular instructional bodhran video.
CASWELL HARPS was established in 1977, and re-established in 2004 in Berkeley, California. As a harp maker. Chris is known for blending tradition and innovation. His harps are considered among the finest traditional harps available.
Chris is co-founder of the Sebastopol Celtic Festival. He has been National Chairman of the Scottish Harp Society of America, and a member of the Judges Panel of the Western United States Pipe Band Association. He studied pipes with Donald MacPherson at the College of Piping in Glasgow and later with Donald Shaw Ramsay. He was Pipe Major of the City of Petaluma Pipe Band for many years. He studied harp with Allison Kinnaird in Edinburgh, and worked with folklorist Peter Kennedy in Devon, England. He was a music composition major at San Francisco State and more recently studied composition with Allaudin Mathieu.
Discography
As Principal Player:
Holy Wood - Chris Caswell, Celtic Harp, Gargoyle, 2001
Celtic Tidings - Chris Caswell & Friends, North Star, 1999
A Kate Wolf Retrospective - Various, with Caswell Carnahan, Gargoyle, 1996
Borderlands - Caswell Carnahan, Kicking Mule, 1982, Gargoyle reissue 1995
New Leaves on an Old Tree - Caswell Carnahan, Kicking Mule, 1981, Gargoyle reissue 1995
A Glint at the Kindling - Robin Williamson & His Merry Band, Flying Fish Records, 1979
American Stonehenge - Robin Williamson & His Merry Band, Flying Fish Records, 1978
Journey’s Edge - Robin Williamson & His Merry Band, Flying Fish Records, 1977
As Significant Other:
Sea Sutras - Beverly Frederick, Veladanza, 2003
Yoga Therapy - Beverly Frederick, Veladanza, 2002
Cello - Barry Phillips, Gourd Music, 2000
Deep Still - various, Here to Him Music, 2000
In the Arms of the Wild - Beverly Frederick, Veladanza, 2000
Rime of the Ancient Matriarch - Holly Tannen, 2000
Assaru u Stekhvar - Omar Ait Vimoun, Gargoyle, 1999
Caper Diem - Bruno, Gargoyle, 1999
Give Me Elbow Room - Bonnie Rideout, Maggie’s Music, 1998
Echoes in the Weave - Bonnie Barnum, Dancing Deer, 1998
The Wee Hours - Various, Scottish Fiddling, Gargoyle, 1998
Celtic Sessions - William Coulter, Gourd Music, 1997
Beyond the Shore - Deby Benton Grosjean, Aniar Records, 1997
Kindred Spirits - Bonnie Rideout, Maggie’s Music, 1996
A Drop of the Pure - Steve Baughman, Tall Tree, 1996
Fandango at Sonoma - Los Californios, Gargoyle, 1996
Fait en Califorie - French Creek, Gargoyle, 1995
Djerdan - Slavko Silic, Gargoyle, 1995
Blackwaterside - Susan Winsberg, 1995
Songs of the Homeland, Vol. 1 & 2 - Donnie Macdonald, 1994
The Owner’s Daughter - Baughman & Price, Celtobeat, 1993
The Magic Horse - Paul Machlis, Sarena Music, 1993
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