RIONA WHYTE - Bunachas
Watercolour Music WCMCD046
Traditional music at its best has a sense of place, and this is certainly true of Bunachas (‘foundation’ or ‘ancestry’ in Scots Gaelic). Mod Gold Medallist Riona Whyte is from Morven, Argyll, a region with a proudly individual identity in culture and song. Riona’s own love for her home and its songs is writ large, and she has produced a beautifully presented collection of 13 songs. Each song has personal connections: the lullaby Dèan Bà Bà, Mo Leanabh and the praise song for Lismore, Mo Shoraidh Do’n Eilean remind Riona of her two grandmothers. This is definitely a family affair: her son composed a tune setting for Donald ‘Ruadh’ Mackinnon’s poem A Mhorbhairne Ghlas nan Tulaichean, her daughter and mother join her on vocals on one track. Riona’s research has unearthed some wonderful little-heard songs, though she also isn’t afraid to cover Runrig or sing a Gaelic translation of Wayfaring Stranger.
Riona’s richly mature voice adds depth and definition to warmly restrained backing from a battalion of musicians the calibre of Mary Ann Kennedy, Joy Dunlop and Phil Cunningham. Quality of expression and feeling are foremost and, like an aromatic perfume, the effects leave a lasting trace. A profoundly rooted and richly resonant listen.
Clare Button
 |
Buy
this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 95 of The Living Tradition magazine. |