The songs chosen for this volume have been taken from albums in the Greentrax back catalogue. Each song has the theme of love and reflection, resulting in an album of very powerful songs, old and new, superbly interpreted by some of Scotland’s finest Gaelic and Scots women singers. From Cathy-Ann MacPhee’s stunning version of the Gaelic rallying song Canan Nan Gaidheal, to Gill Bowman’s version of Auld Lang Syne (set to the original Burns melody), this album is full of gems.
Customer Reviews
Splendid, albeit plaintive, folk ballads about affection, devotion, & contemplation Joe Ross
Playing Time – 65:19 -- The 14 powerful songs on “Celtic Women from Scotland” are drawn from previously released albums on Scotland’s Greentrax record label. The project is subtitled “Songs of Love & Reflection” so one should expect sweetly wistful remembrances and intimate settings. All the selections are beautiful songs of love, praise, lamentation, or tribute. Four are sung in the Gaelic language including the album’s opener, Catherine-Ann MacPhee’s charming rendition of “Canan Nan Gaidheal” (Language of the Gael) that has become the rallying song of the Gaels. In a contemporary and emotional vein, Karine Polwart sings her own self-penned “Whaur Dae Ye Lie?,” in memory of the townspeople massacred in Srebrenica, Bosnia by Serb forces in 1995. Mairi Campbell sings a popular Dick Gaughan song, “Both Sides The Tweed,” wit optimism for good future relations between England and Scotland. There are two selections (Ae Fond Kiss, Auld Lang Syne) drawn from the repertoire of Scotland’s national poet and bard, Rabbie Burns. I was a tad disappointed that none of the women chose an offering from another famous Scottish composer, Lady Nairne.
Other hypnotic and defining voices on the CD include those of Lynn Morrison, Karen Matheson, Isla St. Clair, Ishbel MacAskill, Heather Heywood, Alyth McCormack, Sheena Wellington, Mairi Campbell, Mairi MacInnes, Alison McMorland, Margaret Stewart, and Gill Bowman. All of the women has expressive, enticing vocals, and you’ll want to explore more of their music on the albums sampled. It would have been nice for the CD jacket to credit the accompanists on each piece. All in all, this generous hour-long set has some splendid, albeit plaintive, folk ballads about affection, devotion, and contemplation. Because there are so many beautifully melancholic and emotional moments, I was only able to listen to these tracks in numerous sittings. (Joe Ross)
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