Mary Ann Kennedy
An Dan
Arc Music
SHE can write a tune, Mary Ann Kennedy, and some of them are firmly in the pop idiom rather than following any traditional model, which is arguably no bad thing. It certainly makes the eleven tracks here sound sufficiently varied to appeal to a range of tastes. Possibly better known as a broadcaster than a performer these days, this is her first album as a soloist, recorded at the Watercolour studios run by her husband Nick Turner at Ardgour, and featuring players of the calibre of piper Jarlath Henderson, Lorne MacDougall on whistles, and bassist Euan Burton. Her vocals sound well too, and she has relaxed approach to phrasing that is some distance from Mod-style Gaelic delivery.
Nonetheless, it is her delivery of the lyrics of others, rather than her own words that really shine in this collection. Mise Fhuair (I have won the apple) and Sith na Coille (Forest's Peace) both set words by poet Aonghas MacNeacail and produce from Kennedy not just fine melodies but her best singing. They are rivalled though by the anthem Iain Crichton Smith wrote for Taynuilt on Loch Etive, and Kennedy set for the local Gaelic choir. What a fortune village to have such a song.
Keith Bruce
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