A couple of weeks ago Rita Hamilton holidayed in Scotland from the US, and we managed to arrange a pleasant meeting. She brought me a surprise gift, a CD by Cynthia Cathcart, known to us on this list (also sometimes as "Clarsaich". Having enjoyed her contributions, I was glad finally to hear her playing. here are some quick thoughts about the CD:
Cynthia Cathcart plays the wire strung harp which is enjoying something of a revival. Traditionally, Scottish clarsachs were either strung with wire or gut, and most clarsachs since the late 19th century have been gut strung. To hear the difference, you would compare the comparatively soft, muted sound of (say) Alison Kinnaird, Rona MacKay, and Billy Jackson with the keener, ringing sound of Cynthia's wire strung. The album is well produced with beautiful design and excellent sleeve notes and lovely photos of Cynthia and 'The Rose' - her clarsach. The selection of tunes is very satisfying, the majority being Scottish, with odd Irish and Northumbrian airs resting comfortably beside them. The tunes come from a wide variety of sources, from the delightful "Miss Proud's Reel" (McGlashan's Collection) through tunes from Gesto, Skye, Fraser's and Kerr's Collections, to the more recent "Mist Covered Mountains". Cynthia has chosen her repertoire well, and does the tunes justice. The beautiful "Elegy on Rob Roy McGregor" and "Lament for Her Husband and Child" (both from the Angus Fraser Collection) sound like they were made to be played on the harp. Faster reels such as "Blair Athole" and "Glenlivet" sit well on the instrument as well. Some tracks are arranged with other instruments. "The Top of Ben Lomond" makes good use of side drums, but I was less convinced by the whistle part, which sounds a little stilted. The bagpipe sounds good on "Dr Ross's 50th Welcome..." and, having finally listened to "Brian Boru", the didjuridu creates suitable atmosphere. I have enjoyed listening to "Alchemy of a Rose", and it has prompted me to delve into a couple of the older collections for another look. For more information, Cynthia has a web site at http://www.CynthiaCathcart.net -- Nigel Gatherer, Crieff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Traditional Music Pages: http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/gatherer/music.html Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
