Meredith Hall

Matthew White

Michael Slattery

La Nef

O Sweet Woods Irish & Scottish Airs

Lumps o’ Puddin / Jenny Nettles

Leezie Lindsay (完整版)

Sylvain Bergeron

Betsy MacMillan

Robin Grenon

Craigieburn wood (Arr. by Sylvain Bergeron)

Dowland: Book of Songs, Book 3: Say, Love if Ever Thou Didst Find

Dowland: Book of Songs, Book 1: Away With These SelfLoving Lads

Skye Consort

The Dewy Dells of Yarrow (Arr. by Seán Dagher)

Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled

Dowland: Book of Songs, Book 2: O Sweet Woods

Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of His Second Wife, Niel Gow / The Lowlands of Holland

Matt Highland (Arr. by Seán Dagher)

Kemp’s Jig / Mistress Winter’s Jump / My Lady Hunsdon’s Puff

Bonny Barbry O

Mr Bucton's Galliard

Dowland: Book of Songs, Book 3: Time Stands Still

Traditional: Ye banks and braes (Air: Caledonian Hunt's Delight) (Arr. by Sylvain Bergeron)

Sonata on "Bonny Jean of Aberdeen" (完整版)

Apollo's Fire

Ensemble La Nef

Sacrum Mysterium (A Celtic Christmas Vespers)

Les Charbonniers de l'enfer

La traverse miraculeuse

The Battle of Killiecrankie: Love & War Songs in Free Scotland

Every year about this time a Christmas recording appears among the several early arrivals that claims the kind of attention that will keep it near the CD player for the duration of the holidays. The idea of a Celtic-themed Christmas program certainly isn't new, but this one offers the especially happy combination of soprano Meredith Hall with the crack early-music instrumental ensemble La Nef--and the selections are intelligently chosen, interestingly varied, and thoughtfully organized.

The mix of vocal and purely instrumental tracks includes the opening title song, a starkly beautiful, plaintive tune whose words ask us "to keep with pure hearts" as we remember "the infant in Bethlehem". Later comes a rendition of the Coventry Carol that cleverly invokes the style of an ancient funeral procession, followed by a delightful smattering of dances (a jig, a couple of reels) and some lullabies. We also hear the traditional words to What Child is This? sung to the tune of My Lagan Love.

Hall's clear, appealingly vibrant soprano ably captures the different moods and "flavors" of each song, from contemplative, darker, or sweeter, to light, lively, and bright. Yes, I suppose a little more edge or timbral complexity would have given the interpretations just that much more character, but Hall is a very fine singer who easily draws and holds our attention. And thankfully she doesn't overdo the dialects.

Her instrumental partners are very experienced practitioners of this kind of music; they know about style, and they're very adept at both producing idiomatic arrangements and making transitions that keep the music flowing logically and smoothly from track to track. There are one or two selections I would have excluded ("A cogie of ale" isn't quite up to the quality of most of the rest of the material), and the track and song listings are somewhat discombobulated, but in all, this is a smart and expertly performed Christmas program that really does deserve some serious attention during your holiday festivities. [10/20/2006]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com


Oikan Ayns Bethlehem: Celtic Christmas Songs

My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose: Settings of Robert Burns

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O Sweet Woods Irish & Scottish Airs

歌曲列表

更多 Meredith Hall