Manx Music by Carol Walker is currently being enjoyed in the US, Canada, Australia, UK & Europe!

Carol's playing is exquisite!

Posted by Dewey Parker from Texas, USA

I have never heard anyone coax an instrument to open its soul the way I heard her do on the mountain dulcimer. Under the caress of her fingers, it is a living thing that laughs and cries and whispers secrets. One might expect that, if she moved the microphone very close, one could hear it breathing.

Dewey Parker, "Dewey Dulcimer System"

This was ensemble playing!

Posted by Sam Edelston from Connecticut, USA

Normally, when I hear about a new collection of 'fiddle tunes,' I'll admit, a little voice inside my head asks, 'Doesn't the world already have enough collections of fiddle tunes?'

Rather than being just a dulcimer playing through a bunch of usual-sounding tunes, though, this was ensemble playing (through the miracle of overdubbing) in the mold of Neal Hellman or Maggie Sansone. And nice arrangements. Congratulations! Well done!

Sam Edelston, Dulcimer Performer and Founder of Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival

There's no higher praise I could offer!

Posted by Bill Collins from Delaware, USA

This music, as you've presented it so professionally and lovingly, deserves a very wide audience indeed. The 'music box' sound of your harp is luscious on the Arrange y Chlean arrangement -- Listening to your dulcimer solos, I was struck by how they remind me of Larkin Bryant Cohen's sound and approach -- and in my mind, there's no higher praise I could offer.

Standard disclaimer: no financial or personal connection to Carol Walker. I just love this music and am thrilled to have Carol's wonderful set of arrangements! Congratulations on a great piece of work, and thanks for the Manx!

Carol's book, 'Tailless Tunes,' provides dulcimer players with a rich collection of this fabulous Manx music. She has immersed herself deeply in the material, conducted extensive research on the the Isle of Man itself, and done a great musical service by making these gorgeous melodies available in lovely arrangements for mountain dulcimer, along with instructive background notes. Many of the tunes have an unworldly beauty; others are spritely jigs. All deserve to be well known.

Bill Collins, Dulcimer Perfomer and Teacher

We're absolutely delighted!

Posted by Dr. Breesha Maddrell from The Isle of Man

First of all let me congratulate you on the physical products -- the book and CD are great! We're absolutely delighted that you're spreading the word about Manx music with such great arrangements.

Dr. Breesha Maddrell, Manx Music Development Officer, Manx Heritage Foundation

The whole pacakge is an absolute delight!

Posted by Liz Gordon from Connecticut, USA

Carol, I can't thank you enough for your enchanting CD. Had to play it as soon as I got home and I love every note. The whole package is an absolute delight: concept, packaging, notes, program and, of course, your totally endearing music.

Liz Gordon, Music Connoisseur

Congratulations on your wonderful project!

Posted by Peter Candela from New York, USA

Your book and CD are beautiful through and through. From the art work, quality of paper, notation, stories, layout, quality of recording, to the whole thread through of Dulcie, the Manx cat. It's joy to have, listen and to play.

The Manx music works great with the traditional tuning of mandolin, and, to my added surprise works great melodically with the concertina.

Congratulations on your wonderful project. I never knew about the existence of the Isle of Man except in songs.

Peter Candela, Professional Performer and Composer

I think you have a winner here!

Posted by Rebecca Hoffman from Washington State, USA

One of our members will be wild about some of the tunes I heard on your website as she is British and plays whistles and flutes with us. Another plays the hammered dulcimer, and I suspect he will, also, just love the tunes. I think you have a winner here! Lots of good wishes being sent your way, Carol.

Rebecca Hoffman, Dulcimer Performer and Member of Three Rivers Dulcimer Society

Manx Music is Baroque and Beautiful!

Posted by Ira Perlman from Long Island, New York, USA

Today I sat and listened to your CD and loved it. There were selections I found almost Baroque and beautiful. I think it is totally unfair that this music [has been] kept in hiding. It needs to be presented. As an old folkie I have to admit I knew nothing about any music on the Isle of Man let alone that it had a rich music tradition separate from the rest of the UK.

Ira Perlman, Singer-Songwriter & Performer

We are richer from your work!

Posted by Judith Giddings from Pennsylvania, USA

Just wanted to let you know how very much I am enjoying your book and CD. I am loving reading about the tunes and about Manx musical heritage and listening to your wonderful recordings. I've enjoyed 'breaking out' my dulcimer with the 1 1/2 fret and hearing the lovely harmonies of your arrangements. It is clear that this has been a labor of love for you and that shows in the quality of both the book and the CD.

Thank you so much for sharing your work as a Manx Song Catcher with the dulcimer world. We are richer for it!!

Judith Giddings, Dulcimer Performer

If you don’t have it, you must get it!

Posted by William from Oklahoma, USA

The first workshop Karen Ashbrook offered at a recent dulcimer gathering was on music from the Isle of Man. This was without question the best workshop I have ever attended. Not because I managed to absorb her wonderful technique, but just to hear the sublime beauty of the music she presented. When she began to play it was as if we were hearing Celtic music for the first time as it was meant to be heard, as it must have sounded in the ancient days.

Before I took her workshop I had been exposed to Celtic music from Ireland, Brittany, Wales, Scotland and the far islands north of Scotland, but when I heard the music from the Isle of Man it immediately impressed me as the most beautiful of all, although every Celtic tune Karen played for us had an ethereal beauty. It is said that Charles Guard first introduced Manx music to the outside world in 1991 with his publication of Manx Music for the Irish Harp.

The one who has done the most to introduce Manx music to the dulcimer, albeit the Mountain Dulcimer, is a woman from North America named Carol Walker. The book she produced, and which Karen Ashbrook sold to me, is called Tailless Tunes. It has a magnificent photo on the front showing a Manx cat (tailless of course) sitting on top of a dulcimer overlooking the sea from a mountain perch. I have gotten more joy out of this book than any book of music I have ever owned. If you don’t have it, you must get it!

William, a hammered dulcimer player from Oklahoma