Ever since the most ancient times, the moon has always been a source of fascination, but equally of apprehension for all peoples of all civilisations. The fact that it is the largest luminous body in the dark night sky gives it a special place in the firmament both as the harbinger of the coming dawn but also as an object of mystery of a somewhat ominous nature. Perhaps this is because the light of the moon is reflected light, light whose source is elsewhere where we are unable to see. In this sense it resembles music itself which becomes manifest in the world through us, although it does not originate in us. All music pre-exists in a non-manifest realm of possibility and it is only through our perception of these possibilities that it comes to realisation in the world as we know it. This process is in many ways reminiscent of that of reflected light. Only if we can serve as a clear surface on which it can “shine” can we hope to be worthy servants of the grand art of music, thus reflecting its true luminescence and clarity.
Ross Daly
Archanes,
October 2017

Our profound thanks to Saam Schlamminger, Zohar Fresco, and Marijia Katsouna, who so skillfully and tastefully accompanied us on percussion on these recordings. We are also most grateful to Vangelis Apostolou and Efrén Lόpez for their technical support in the recording and mixing of this project, as well as to Vasiliki Pantelaki for her artwork.

CD 1
1) Lunar - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir, Cymbal
Ross Daly - Afghan Rabab, Tarhu, Bass Rabab, Lyra, Bendir

2) Nishakara* - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir
Ross Daly - Afghan Rabab, Bass Rabab, Tarhu, Bendir, Tanpura

3) Mahzarin* - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir
Ross Daly - Saz

4) Anigma - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Maritzia Katsouna - Bendir
Ross Daly - Tarhu

5) Hecate* - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir, Cymbal
Ross Daly-Tarhu

6) Kontylies of Messara - Cretan Traditional
Kelly Thoma - Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir
Ross Daly - Lyra

7) Mirza* - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Lyra
Maritzia Katsouna - Bendir
Ross Daly - Lyra

CD 2
1) Altan* - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Ross Daly - Sazes, Bendir

2) Chandrakala* - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir, Cymbal
Ross Daly - Lyra, Afghan Rabab

3) Aylin* - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir
Ross Daly - Afghan Rabab, Lyra, Tarhu

4) Dilkeşide Saz Semâi - comp. Ross Daly
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Zohar Fresco - Bendir
Ross Daly - Tarhu

5) Çoban - comp. Talip Özkan
Kelly Thoma - Soprano Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir
Ross Daly - Saz

6) Mehrangarh - Rajasthani Traditional
Kelly Thoma - Lyra, Soprano Lyra
Saam Schlamminger - Bendir, Cymbal
Ross Daly - Afghan Rabab, Bass Rabab, Tarhu

*Nishakara: The Night Maker.
In Hindu mythology Nishakara is a personification of the moon. A somewhat tragic figure always longing for completeness, for return to a place of origin despite being himself the very substance and process through which one attains completeness, through which one gets a taste of eternity.
*Mahzarin: Golden Moon in Persian
*Hecate: Hecate was a pre-Olympian goddess of the Ancient Greek Pantheon who was associated with magic, crossroads, death and rebirth as well as with the moon. She was said to have been the bestower of dreams on humanity which, if interpreted wisely, led to greater clarity.
*Mirza: Mirza in Persian denotes a person of aristocratic or royal lineage such as a prince. In this case it was the name of our most beloved dog who sadly left us in 2015 and to whom this piece is dedicated.
*Altan: in Turkish Altan means red dawn. Traditionally sailors have considered the red dawn to be a warning that a storm is on its way.
*Chandrakala: chandra is the name of the moon in Sanskrit, depicted in mythology as a young and beautiful man with two arms carrying a club and a lotus. Chandrakala denotes moonbeams.
*Aylin: Aylin in Turkish means “moon halo”, a particularly beautiful natural occurrence caused by minute ice particles in the earth’s atmosphere.

All music composed and arranged by Ross Daly except for :
· Mehrangarh. This piece is based on traditional tunes from Rajasthan which we learned from Ghevar Khan, Darra Khan, and Firoze Khan of the Manganyar family of the desert region of Jaisalmer, together with a Cretan syrtos melody composed by the late Spyros Sifogiorgakis. The Manganyar family have for centuries been the court musicians of the Maharajah of Jodhpur and Marwar. Their primary instrument is the kamaycha, itself a distant relative of the lyra. This instrument was played masterfully by the late Sakar Khan. Ghevar, Darra and Firoze Khan are the sons and worthy successors of Sakar Khan.
· Kontylies of Messara (traditional Cretan). These melodies were amongst the favorites of my teacher the late Kostas Mountakis from whom I learned them.
· Çoban. This piece was composed by the late Talip Özkan and it was unusual for him to play a concert without it being including in the program. Talip Özkan was one of the foremost virtuosi of the saz of the latter part of the 20th century as well as a close personal friend.

Recorded at Studio Vasmaris, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Recording Engineer: Vangelis Apostolou
Mixing: Efrén López, Mas de Flors Studio
Photography: Niko Alexandrou
Manolis Mathioudakis
Angelina Demosthenous, Silvano Mangiafico
CD artwork: Vasiliki Pantelaki
Production: Ross Daly, Kelly Thoma