A Day Will Come

Last summer, when the people of Britain were discussing leaving the European Union and what this meant, harmonica and melodeon maestro Will Pound travelled across Europe, physically and musically, to explore what it is. ‘The idea,’ Pound says, ‘was to discover and celebrate the traditional music of the countries that make up the European Union.’ His album (its cover the colour of EU passports) comprises tunes from each of the 27 member states, from Finland to Spain, Ireland to Cyprus. There are 14 tracks, and while Ireland has one to itself, the others move from one country to another, not usually neighbours. A Dutch sailing song tune fl oats into a jota, a Spanish dance; a Portuguese murinheira is paired with a Lithuanian polka. He is struck by surprising musical links that span geographical distance – the Slovenian šaltin with the Scottish strathspey.

Pound worked with musicians he met on his travels, including the bagpiper Francesco Sultana who taught him one of the few Maltese tunes that still exists, the singer Dunja Bahtijarevic in Croatia and German fi ddler Gudrun Waither. He also gathers an ensemble of fi ne players from the UK with the range to play this variety of music. Some of the traditions do pose challenges to a harmonica and box player. The Romanian tune, for instance, moves from 4/4 to 7/8 – but he is joined here by percussionist Evelyn Glennie, so they nail it. There is also poetry by Poland's first slam poet, Bohdan Piasecki, now based in Birmingham, who chronicles a personal migration. This is a heartfelt celebration and a timely reminder of connections that, through traditional music, span the continent of Europe.