VA: Folk Songs of the British Isles
SOMM Recordings

No single-disc compilation could possibly account for the staggering amount of folk material the United Kingdom has produced, but this twenty-seven-song, eighty-minute collection from SOMM Recordings provides a terrific overview. The approach adopted for it's effective too: the songs are sequenced to guide the listener through a semi-circular tour of the British Isles, moving from Ireland to Scotland and then south to Wales before ending in England. Fittingly, the album closes with “Song for Gwyn,” written for the late City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra violist Gwyn Williams, for whom a bursary to help young violists has been established and to which proceeds from this release will be donated. That it's an entirely new song (and first recording) testifies to a vital folk tradition that's still very much alive.

The cast of contributors is diverse, which makes for a fresh, ever-changing programme. At one end of the spectrum there are classically trained singers—soprano Janis Kelly, mezzo-sopranos Yvonne Howard and Maria Jagusz, tenors Nicky Spence and Wynne Evans, and Welsh baritone Mark Llewelyn Evans—and British jazz vocalist Elaine Delmar; at the other is actor-singer Kevin Whately, whose spirited singing adds a, shall we say, more informal character to the recording. Instrumental touches enrich it also, with singer Caroline McCausland accompanying herself on guitar, piano played by Michael Pollock and John Wilson, and three lovely flute-and-harp duos by the Kelly sisters, Fiona and Jean.

Scanning the booklet's mini-bios of the participants is rewarding in itself when their accomplishments are so wide-ranging and impressive. Consider by way of example Wynne Evans, whose award-wining tenor graces three songs and whose credits include a top-selling debut album (A Song in My Heart), regular radio gigs and opera roles, and a performance for King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at their Welsh home. Or consider Yvonne Howard, whose award-nominated appearance in the televised film of John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer led to her being acclaimed as “surely the finest singing actor of her generation.” Her performances on “Blow the Wind Southerly” and “Sweet Polly Oliver” certainly don't argue against that assessment.

Some of the songs'll be familiar to aficionados of the UK folk tradition, among them “She Moved Through the Fair,”“The Last Rose of Summer,” and “Down by the Salley Gardens,” but the inspired performances make them feel brand new. The album opens with McCausland's affecting rendition of the traditional Irish lament “She Moved Through the Fair,” the first of three songs on which she appears (many of the vocalists appear on multiple songs as their appearances coincide with the geographical itinerary of the set-list). The song's all the more moving for being performed sans accompaniment, especially in the hush with which McCausland delivers the last lines. That said, the impact of “By the Short Cut to the Rosses” and “The Last Rose of Summer” is in no way diminished by the coupling of her lustrous voice with acoustic guitar.

An early highlight is “The Lark in the Clear Air,” a beautiful pastoral reverie presented in a gorgeous performance by the Kelly sisters. As beguiling are their treatments of “Sí Bheag Sí Mor” and “Give Me Your Hand,” the combination of flute and harp proving an irresistible combination in all three of their pieces. Accompanied by Wilson, opera singer Spence elevates “Down by the Salley Gardens,” “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose,” and the Scottish children's song “Can Ye Sew Cushions” with commanding, sensitively attuned performances.

Entrancement sets in quickly with many a song, Janis Kelly's unaccompanied version of “Skye Boat Song” a case in point. Whately, known for appearances in several television series and movies, enlivens the album with cheeky vocal turns in two John Wilson-accompanied ditties, the English traditional “Dance te Thi Daddy” (also known as “When the Boat Comes In”) first and the rabble-rousing “Blaydon Races” second. With Whately singing along with himself in the choruses, the latter begins to sound like something a particularly well-lubricated crew might belt out at any number of pub stops.

July 2023