Alison and Geordie's selection of songs and ballads demonstrate their individual involvement in the Scottish Song Tradition over a 40 years span of singing, collecting, research/publications and recordings. Represented here are Geordie's own songwriting - White Wings - to his settings of poems and song texts, Farewell To the Bens; The Virginnia Maid and John Barleycorn. Alison's close association with Willie Scott and the Stewarts of Fetterangus, Lucy and her niece Elizabeth, connect her directly to the older singing style and repertoire such as The Rocks O Gibralter sung here. In 1989 when Willie died the Scott family requested Alison sang his mother's song (not usually sung publicly by Willie) Time Wears Awa at his funeral. In the words of Hamish Henderson it "in every sense goes to the heart".
With Alison (banjo) and Geordie (guitar) also featuring: Kirsty Potts (vocals), Derek Hoy* (fiddle,viola), Norman Chalmers* (concertina, whistle, mouth organ, jaws harp).
Customer Reviews
Strong, controlled, & genial as they sing songs full of lament, hope & humor Joe Ross
Playing Time – 55:55 -- In true folkloric tradition, “White Wings” is a tribute to song carriers that preserve material from earlier days. Song-by-song notes document sources, and they come from both oral and printed tradition. Scottish singer and folklorist Alison McMorland spent some years in England before returning to Scotland and forming a highly-acclaimed duo with Geordie McIntyre, a well respected singer and songwriter. Alison McMorland grew up around music, and she has built a reputation as a singer, collector, broadcaster, author and tutor. She was nominated for the ‘Singer of the Year’ Award at the 2005 Scots Trad Awards. Similarly, Geordie McIntyre has spent a lifetime involved in song, balladry and poetry. Although both are solo performers, Alison and Geordie have developed a joint collaborative repertoire based on their common interests and mellifluous blend
“White Wings” includes solo a cappella renditions by both singers, duets, and others with lean instrumental accompaniment of guitar, fiddle, concertina, viola, whistle, jaw harp, banjo, and/or mouth organ. The instrumental work is kept sparse to not detract from the lyrics. Duets like “Here’s A Health To All True Lovers” are sung in unison. I especially enjoyed those selections that partnered their lyrical vocalizing with the bouncy interplay of just fiddle and concertina (White Wings, The Shoreheid Boat, Time Wears Awa, John Barleycorn). Norman Chalmers is the talented concertina player who is as fluid and tricky as he needs to be with his buttons and bellows. Derek Hoy has a sweetness and purity of tone on his fiddle. Both musicians are members of Jock Tamson’s Bairns. A drama teacher, Kristy Potts (Alison’s daughter) adds her clarion singing part to three numbers. Her involvement is a comforting affirmation that the songs are being passed down to the next generation’s song carriers. It is very much appreciated that the 24-page CD jacket also includes lyrics for all the songs.
Both McMorland and McIntyre provide engaging interpretations of ballad and song. Their voices emerge as irresistible forces of clarity and emotion in the finest Scottish singing tradition. They are strong, controlled, and genial as the pair sings songs full of lament, hope and humor. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, Oregon)
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