Bare Necessities
Bare Necessities
Bare Necessities is a Boston-based quartet known nationwide for its unique presentation of English country dance music. The quartet, composed of Earl Gaddis and Mary Lea(violin and viola), Peter Barnes (flute and whistles), and Jacqueline Schwab (piano) has been playing weekly country dances since 1978, performing music primarily from the 17th and 18th centuries. They have toured in England as a band and have played for concerts, festivals, workshops, balls and dance camps throughout the United States and Canada over the years. In the course of concertizing and dance playing, they have become increasingly free in their improvisatory explorations of these beautiful melodies. The resulting sound is that of both chamber and folk music, yet extraordinarily inventive and playful with its interweaving of harmonies and countermelodies.
"...liberal sweeps of improvisation
which gives them a sound unlike
any other on either side of the Atlantic"
(Andy Nagy, The Boston Globe)
We welcome your comments. 
E-mail us: pbarnes "at" alumni.moravian.edu 
(use @ instead of "at", of course) 

For more information on 
Bare Necessities, contact: 

 Peter Barnes 
10 Myrtle Street 
Greenfield, MA 01301 
772-3132 (area code 413) 

 "...it's obvious that the lifeblood of the group is improvisation - the four instruments weaving spontaneously in and out and around the basic tunes and sparking off each other."

(Folk Roots Magazine)
Page design by Peter Barnes - Updated 10-08-03