This is the debut solo CD from fiddler Anna-Wendy Stevenson, although she has featured on a number of recordings over the years with groups such as Anam and Calluna and is in great demand as a freelance musician. On this recording she is joined by James Ross (piano), Ewan Vernal (bass) and James MacIntosh (percussion), all exceptionally gifted musicians in their own right.  There are fifteen tracks, mixed between traditional and more contemporary tunes and tempos; the musical arrangements are excellent throughout, as is the playing.  Anna-Wendy’s fiddle just sings out in the slower tracks and has a great tone to it over the four strings, but you need a musical, sympathetic player to bring out the best from any instrument (regardless of how good a fiddle is) and she has certainly achieved this here.  This is a CD that you will never get tired of listening to, as it is just brilliant throughout.  It is quite reflective and melancholic with a classical feel for traditional tunes and this runs all the way through the tracks.  The music is very calming, a great anti-stress aid for today’s world.  Every now and then, there is an album that stands out from others and you can’t quite figure out why you like it so much, this recording is one such album. Check out her web-site.  http://www.annawendy.com

Young Scots fiddle player Anna-Wendy is already a considerable veteran of touring, having worked with the groups Anam, Calluna and Fine Friday (whose lineup she currently graces), and latterly in a duo setting with pianist James Ross. Now she's branched out on a new project, in name a solo CD, on which she's joined by the aforementioned Mr Ross along with Ewan Vernal (bass) and James MacIntosh (percussion), who together provide a virtually omnipresent yet subtle and always sympathetic backdrop to Anna-Wendy's polished and beautifully moulded fiddling. Initial impressions of this disc are a mite deceptive, for Anna-Wendy's playing tends often to hide its dynamism beneath a finely-honed technique and a laid-back, easy virtuosity. Perhaps, too, the constant underlying presence of the piano gives the whole project a slightly understated ambience that's almost classical in its refinement, yet (just as with chamber music) there's actually a lot more going on than initially meets the ear (an awkward metaphor perhaps, but I'm sure you'll hear what I mean). The programme mixes traditional tunes with modern compositions in decent proportion, and includes three of Anne-Wendy's own (ranging from a lovely air written in tribute to her father to a spirited reel that she even got to play on the dreaded Balamory TV show!). The arrangements are sensible and cool (though not in the sense of unemotional), and textures are at all times intelligently managed; similarly with tempos, which are acutely agile yet relaxed and controlled, for Anna-Wendy doesn't need to show off by frenetic note-spinning and there's evidently no lack of fire or energy within. Her intuitive feel for phrasing is always impressive; I particularly liked her way with Lament For Glencoe and the extra opportunities for display of musicianship on the more extended Dog Bites set. This is a well-recorded and exceptionally musical CD which is likely to give much pleasure. ...David Kidman.. The Living Tradition