Stephanie Claussen – The Road Home from Skye (self-release, 2019)
The Road Home from Skye is a collection of traditional Scottish and Irish tunes arranged for harp by Stephanie Claussen. The intimate album features a lovely mix of jigs, reels, airs, and ballads, reflecting themes of welcome, farewell, love, and politics. It was inspired by a pleasant walk through Glen Lichd in the Scottish Highlands.
Claussen draws inspiration from a range of musical and literary figures, including J.R.R. Tolkien, Frank Sinatra, Hildegard von Bingen, Turlough O’Carolan, and J.S. Bach.
Stephanie Claussen is a Minnesota-based harper, arranger, and educator specializing in both Celtic and western classical music. Her repertoire spans Scottish folk, medieval and Baroque compositions, and works by composers such as J.S. Bach and Debussy.
At age twelve, Claussen won first place in the Macalester Scottish Country Harp Competition and was named “Most Promising Harpist.” She studied harp performance at the University of Minnesota under Kathy Kienzle, principal harpist of the Minnesota Orchestra.
A 2014 Arts Tour Grant recipient, Claussen has performed a diverse program titled Eclectic Harp throughout Minnesota. In 2018, she attended the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and won the title of US National Scottish Harp Champion. She has released five solo albums and authored two books of harp arrangements published by Mel Bay.
Claussen has performed with various ensembles, including the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Dakota Valley Symphony, Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, and the Duluth Symphony Orchestra. She was a long-time performer at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and a former member of the Ravenscroft Musicke Guild, an ensemble dedicated to Renaissance music.
Track Listing
01 – The Duke of Fife’s Welcome to Deeside/Campbell’s Farewell to Redcastle
02 – Planxty Drew/Miss Noble
03 – The Star of the County Down
04 – Loch Ruthven/The Feet Washing
05 – Skye Air
06 – The Cold Nights of Winter/Sleep Sound in the Morning
07 – Small is my Inclination to Sleep/The Old Favorite
08 – Ae Fond Kiss/Rory Dall’s Port
09 – Lord Huntley’s Cave/The Greenwood Side/The Forest Where the Deer Resort/The Ale is Dear Resort
10 – This Gloom on my Soul
11 – Brose and Butter/Jacky Tar/Far From Home
12 – Are Ye Sleepin’ Maggie?
13 – Wiggert’s Polska
14 – Cam Ye O’er Frae France/To Daunton Me
15 – Ca’ the Yowes to the Knowes/Morpeth Lasses
16 – The Parting Glass
Author: Ryan Emmert
