Heather Dale

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Heather Dale
Background information
Birth name	Heather Dale
Born	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s)	Celtic, Folk, World, New Age
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instrument(s)	Voice, Piano, Bodhran Drum, Tin & Low Whistles, Recorders, Mountain Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Harp, Bowed Psaltery, Percussion.
Years active	1995 - Present
Label(s)	Amphisbaena (Amphis) Music

Heather Dale is a Canadian Celtic recording artist and touring musician. She records and performs primarily her own original songs, which draw their inspiration from the mythology, folklore and history of various Celtic and non-Celtic cultures. Her musical style is a mix of traditional and modern, with elements from Celtic folk, jazz, blues, folk-rock and world music influences.

Based in Toronto, she began her career by performing at Society for Creative Anachronism historical re-enactment events; she has been a medieval-era re-enactor since 1993 and is known by the name 'Mistress Marian of Heatherdale' ^[1] within the group. Her CD Call The Names is a compilation album of her oldest songs (originally released on cassette between 1995 and 1998), all of which present an idealized view of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, within the SCA context. Heather released another historical album in November 2002: This Endris Night, with twelve reworkings of pre-1700AD Christmas carols.

Building on her popularity in the SCA community, Heather soon started doing concerts at folk clubs and other live music venues in the Toronto area, traveling occasionally to perform for audiences further afield. She released two major albums in this time period:

• The Trial of Lancelot (released in January 2000; nine original songs inspired by Britain's King Arthur legends)
• May Queen (released in April 2003; ten original songs inspired by the King Arthur legends)

These albums demonstrated Heather's longtime interest in the epic King Arthur story, and garnered mention in the scholarly New Arthurian Encyclopedia ^[2]. Particularly notable is Heather's ability to create empathy with the characters in her songs; listeners are shown vulnerable, first-person portrayals of such legendary figures are Sir Lancelot, Queen Guinevere, King Arthur, Merlin the Magician and Morgan Le Fay. Heather also released a 120-page story/songbook called The Legends of Arthur in November 2006; it has sheet music arrangements for all of her Arthurian songs. The book also includes Heather's re-telling of the whole King Arthur story, in the form of 27 traditionally-inspired stories that were originally released as part of Heather's fan newsletter.

In late 2004, Heather began a new phase of her career and shifted her focus toward a solid touring schedule (100+ shows per year). Along with fellow multi-instrumentalist Ben Deschamps, she regularly books and performs extensive tours across Canada, the United Kingdom, the USA, and continental Europe (Germany, Hungary and Spain). In addition to vocals, Heather and Ben play as many as a dozen instruments in their duo shows, including piano, double bass, guitar, bodhran drum, mountain dulcimer, alto recorder, violin, and an array of Irish flutes & tin whistles. They are also joined occasionally by German violinist Heike Jurzik, and Canadian bassist/percussionist Jason Sonier. Heather has released three albums since 2004:

• The Road to Santiago (released in April 2005; ten original songs and two cover songs, all inspired by legends & folktales)
• The Hidden Path: Live & Rarities (released in November 2006; fourteen tracks of live recordings, alternate recordings and traditional songs)
• The Gabriel Hounds (released in May 2008; fourteen original songs, all inspired by legends & folktales)

Heather is an outspoken advocate of independent musicians within the Canadian music industry, and has never signed with a major record label^[3]. She undertakes all her touring and recording work through the indie record label she founded in 1998: Amphisbaena Music (often shortened to Amphis Music). Many of her fans discover her music through online radio and download sites like iTunes; her song Mordred's Lullaby has achieved popularity with anime fans on YouTube, and her song This Endris Night has been featured on the several hundred Medieval-memed YTMND sites. In addition to her fans in folk & Celtic music circles worldwide, she has a strong fan following in the historical re-enactment and sci-fi/fantasy fan communities. Her recording The Hidden Path is nominated for a 2007 Aurora Award, and her songwriting earned her a double nomination for the 2005 Pegasus Award.

[edit] Discography

• The Trial of Lancelot (2000)
• Call The Names (2001)
• The Call The Names Book (songbook) (2001)
• This Endris Night (2002)
• May Queen (2003)
• The Road to Santiago (2005)
• The Hidden Path: Live & Rarities (2006)
• The Legends of Arthur (story/songbook) (2006)
• The Gabriel Hounds (2008)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• www.HeatherDale.com - official artist's website