The Orange Tree

I don’t know whose idea it was to get Grey Larsen (probably America’s foremost Irish flute player) together with Québecois guitarist/singer André Marchand (of La Bottine Souriante), but whoever it was we owe them a great debt. On this gently beautiful and propulsively joyful album we get to hear a mix of French Canadian and British Isles tunes played and sung in a blend of styles — perhaps most notably on the opening track, a medley of reels that includes an example of “Acadian mouth music,” rhythmic singing of wordless syllables based on ancient Irish folk practice. Larsen is also a fine concertina player, and between the two of them Larsen and Marchand deliver an absolutely gorgeous program of traditional music.