The Rising Fawn String Ensemble, released by Rounder Records in 1979, is the album that established Norman Blake's mature chamber-folk style — the close-quarters acoustic trio of Blake on guitar, Nancy Blake on cello, and James Bryan on fiddle that took the band's name from the Blakes' rural northwest Georgia community. The program ranges across traditional tunes and Blake originals, including Devil Chased Me Around the Stump, Charlie Gaither, the British ballad Three Ravens, Handsome Molly, and the title piece Coming Down from Rising Fawn. The Ensemble's distilled sound — quiet, deliberate, deeply traditional — would define the Blakes' late-career direction, and the album remains one of Norman Blake's most beloved Rounder releases.
Tracklist
- 1 Devil chased me around the stump 1:58
- 2 Charlie Gaither 3:33
- 3 Cherokee Shuffle alt version 3:40
- 4 Medley: 4:04
- 5 Opera reel 2:47
- 6 Over the Waterfall alt version 3:12
- 7 The promise 2:09
- 8 Tin foil and stone 2:47
- 9 Three ravens
- 10 Handsome Molly alt version 3:33
- 11 Jeff Davis 2:33
- 12 Briarpicker Brown 4:13
- 13 Da slockit light 4:47
- 14 Medley: 4:58
- 15 Stony Fork 4:47
- 16 Old ties 4:47
- 17 Coming down from Rising Fawn #2 4:13