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SCOTTISH WOMEN - Various Artistes Greentrax Recordings CDTRAX 261 | ||||
Following in the
footsteps of earlier Greentrax releases 'Scots Women' and 'Gaelic Women',
this generously filled CD boasts some of the most distinctive and best
loved female voices from the contemporary Scottish/Gaelic scene. The 'Scottish
Women' tour was premiered at Celtic Connections in January 2002, followed
by a Scottish Arts Council-backed Highland tour. And what a marvellous
live recording this is, complete with the odd vocal flaw; it captures
each performer's pleasure at singing for an appreciative audience. The
song arrangements are brilliant, allowing each singer to come to the fore,
their solo passages punctuated by satisfying, rousing choruses; sleeve
notes are scarcely needed when you're listening to voices this distinctive.
Instrumentation is used well (piano, accordion, pipes, whistles, fiddle
and percussion feature), and the songs, from both Gaelic and Scots traditions,
are well chosen. There's some lovely, knowing humour from the legendary
Sheila Stewart with her words of caution for young girls, 'Maids When
You're Young'. Ray Fisher recites her excellent 'Mother's Ruin' to the
audience's obvious delight. There's some fine puirt a beul sung by Mairi
MacInnes and Anna Murray, a lively set of work songs, and the superbly
rousing 'Hey Donald', where lucky drummer Mike Travis appears to have
been completely surrounded by all 15 Scottish Women! The highly individual
vocal styles of the remaining chief protagonists are amply represented
- Annie Grace, the Mackenzie sisters, Margaret Bennett, Ishbel MacAskill,
Karine Polwart, Corrina Hewat, Maggie MacInnes, Sheena Wellington and
Elspeth Cowie all excel here with beautifully chosen songs; laments, ballads,
Burns' 'Slave's Lament' - and there's a nice balance between English and
Gaelic language in the selections. I vividly recall the words of Sheila
Stewart in a BBC Radio programme: "I sing the songs with a conyach, which
means the emotion or feeling that you put into the ballads. Some songs,
I don't hear myself singing them, but I hear my family singing them, and
I connect to them as I sing." I wonder how many of these women experience
that emotion too, as they sing? The last words on the sleeve notes say:
"Let's do it again." I've no doubt that they will. |
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