Track Listing

1. Lover's Waltz - Molly Mason, Jay Ungar
2. Misty Dawn Medley: Misty Molly/Foxy Mary/My Darling Asleep - David Kaynor, Molly Mason, L.E. McCullough, Jay Ungar
3. Mountain House - Molly Mason, Abby Newton, Larry Packer, Jay Ungar
4. Contradance: The Road We Traveled/The Wizard's Walk - Molly Mason, Jay Ungar
5. Legends of the Fall - Molly Mason, Jay Ungar
6. Lover's Lament - Molly Mason, Jay Ungar
7. Prairie Love Song - Jerry MacDonald, Molly Mason, John Sebastian, Jay Ungar
8. Louisianna Wedding Bells - Christine Balfa, Molly Mason, , Jay Ungar, Ruth Ungar
9. Montague Processional - Molly Mason, L.E. McCullough, Jay Ungar
10. Give Me Your Hand - Molly Mason, Jay Ungar
11. There's Honey on the Moon Tonight - Gary Burke, Peter Davis, Peter Edklund, Molly Mason, Pete Toigo, Peter Tomlinson, Jay Ungar
12. Metsakukkia - Peter Davis, Molly Mason, Jay Ungar
13. Chosen Challe Mazeltov - Dave Davies, Peter Davis, Molly Mason, Jay Ungar
14. Tiptoe Alley - Dave Davies, Peter Davis, Peter Ecklund, Molly Mason, Pete Toigo, Jay Ungar
15. It's All in Your Mind - Gary Burke, Peter Davis, Peter Ecklund, Molly Mason, Pete Toigo, Peter Tomlinson, Jay Ungar
16. Lover's Waltz - Molly Mason, Abby Newton, Jay Ungar

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67747 in Music
• Brand: Unger
• Released on: 1997-01-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
There are faster and flashier fiddlers than Jay Ungar, but he is almost without peer as a composer of fiddle tunes. Blessed with that rare knack for making his melodies move in ways that stir the listener's longings, he is best known for penning and performing "Ashokan Farewell," the evocative theme from "The Civil War" TV series. Ungar's 1997 album with his wife Molly Mason, The Lover's Waltz, takes its name from another striking fiddle theme, a slow-moving melody that seems to trace the rise of romantic desire and its satisfaction in each 32-bar section.

Mason accompanies her husband on piano, guitar, and bass, and she sings on four of the album's 16 tracks in an ingratiating alto. For the most part, though, the lead voice is Ungar's violin, which seems to sing in a note-bending, heart-tugging tenor. His melodies can be elegiac ("The Mountain House"), picturesque ("Prairie Love Song"), or spirited ("Tiptoe Alley"), but they are always memorable. The duo is joined by Balfa Toujours for a lively Cajun song, by John Sebastian for a cowboy tune, and by Swingology for several jazz and klezmer tunes. The liner notes try to give the compositions the narrative shape of a badly-written romance novel, but these tunes don't need any help. They can enchant the listener with the sheer power of melody. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

Priceless
I learned of Jay Ungar and Molly Mason when I did a radio show on a public radio station. I played "The Lover's Waltz" as often as I could get away with it. I love this music and it never gets old. The whole CD is great. I also had "The Lover's Waltz" played at my wedding. I am a ballroom dancer, and I have used several of the tunes for performances. If you love beautiful music, you can't go wrong with Jay!

One of the most influential and emotionally effective CDs
Sometimes instrumental CDs can get very boring and repetitive, and I am speaking from a musician's point of view, but The Lover's Waltz is brilliant. Unger continues to exhibit his amazing talent for composing compelling, eclectic, and beautiful fiddle tunes, along with his wife Molly Mason and other musicians who helped support some of the songs. The tracks on this album range from the heart breaking to the jovial in the styles of American Folk, Klezmer, and Southwestern. I want to play this CD at my wedding. For all those who enjoyed Ashokan Farewell and the Catskill Collection as well as people just looking for beautiful and beautifully performed music.

Superbly done.
Heard an interview with Jay & Molly on National Public Radio regarding The Lover's Waltz -- was so impressed had to go out that day and find the recording.

It's a good thing CDs don't wear out -- I play it so often.

If I could only have one music CD, this would be it...

Who would have thought you could get so many different emotions and sounds out of a fiddle? Zydeco, appalachian, baltic, Southwest -- whew! How do they do it?