Soft May Morn

1. Seagulls of Scarbe/How I Passed the Winter/Fair John's Sister/St. Kild

2. Oh, 'Tis Me That Is Wounded/Lament for Clan Ranald

3. They Stole My Wife from Me Last Night

4. Sad Is My Soul/A Doo-A-Dee I Went/Battery Rock/Red Brook

5. My Step Is Heavy/One Day I Travelled the Moor

6. Dargo

7. Soft May Morn/Islay and Kintyre/Early on a May Morning

8. Joyful Is the Crossing/Gloom upon My Soul/Och O Ro U

9. Vale of Keppoch/Clay Port

10. Lord Reay/Ha-Da-Lolal/Lad's Cairn/Hobgoblin/Gruagach

11. Rocks of the Peak/Maid of Edin

12. Cold Night/Shrieks and Cries of Woe/Noon in the Deep Blue Sky

13. Man of Corrie/My Love Is Fixed on Donald

14. I Am a Thrush of Clan Donald/My Sleep Is Sound

15. Brown-Haired Maiden of the Goats/Tower/Beloved Little Sister/Neither

16. McIntosh's Lament

Editorial Reviews

THE WASHINGTON POST
"She transforms a lonely melody into utter desolation...then effortlessly switches gears from languorous ballad to virtuosic exercise." --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Description
A treasure of ancient Scottish melodies unearthed by Bonnie Rideout while in residence at Scotland's Armadale castle on the Isle of Skye. These rare tunes from the North Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland (from The Patrick McDonald Collection) are performed in elegant classical style on fiddle, with piano and guitar. Includes: haunting airs, lively reels and a virtuosic lament in the "Pibroch" Highland bagpipe style. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Soft May Morn

Tracks:

The Seagulls Of Scarba/How I Passed The Winter/Fair John's Sister
Oh, Tis Me That Is Wounded/Lament For Clan Ranald
They Stole My Wife From Me Last Night
Sad Is My Soul/A Doo-a-dee I Went/The Battery Rock/The Red Brook
My Sleep Is Heavy/One Day I Travelled The Moor
Dargo
Soft May Morn/Islay And Kintyre/Early On A May Morning
Joyful Is The Crossing/Gloom Upon My Soul/Och O Ro U
The Vale Of Keppoch/Clay Port
Lord Reay/Ha-Da-Lolal/The Lad's Cairn/Hoblin/Gruagach
Rocks Of The Peak/The Maid Of Edin
Cold Night/Shrieks And Cries Of Woe/Noon In The Deep Blue Sky
The Man Of Corrie/My Love Is Fixed On Donald
I Am A Thrush Of Clan Donald/My Sleep Is Sound
Brown Haired Madien Of The Ghost/The Tower/Beloved LIttle Sister/Neither Shall I Go To Loch Broom
McIntosh's Lament

Album Description

A treasure of ancient Scottish melodies unearthed by Bonnie Rideout while in residence at Scotland's Armadale castle on the Isle of Skye. These rare tunes from the North Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland (from The Patrick McDonald Collection) are performed in elegant classical style on fiddle, with piano and guitar. Includes: haunting airs, lively reels and a virtuosic lament in the "Pibroch" Highland bagpipe style.

Customer Reviews:

Great old Scottish fiddling but..........2001-03-06

it's too bad the piano accompaniment is so choppy. My apologies to Bonnie's Mom who played the piano on this CD. It is one of Bonnie's earlier recordings so I will excuse her for not having the connections to get a professional piano player into the studio. Otherwise, I do love this CD.

I also have the sheetmusic (Mel Bay) that is in full score with piano, violin solo, and the original manuscript versions of these tunes that Bonnie dug up while staying in a castle on the Isle of Skye. As a fourth year violin/fiddle student I am learning a great many tunes as a result of having the CD and book. If you want to feel like you're sitting in Scotland hundreds of years ago then this is the CD you want.

Fiddle music with depth and brilliance.......1999-04-30

Bonnie Rideout is the best Celtic fiddle player alive today as far as my taste is concerned. I find however that some of my friends whom I have introduced this music to don't share my enthusiasm. I get the feeling they are looking for liveliness and propulsion and don't notice or appreciate the depth of character, originality, and honest to god brilliance that I hear in it. There are in fact some lively pieces, but in the end if you are going to like this music you will have to like taut, sharp slow pieces as well. However, I must mention one fault with Bonnie Rideout's music is that it's not always well-produced in the studio. For example there are tracks with the most glorious fiddling running at equal volume alongside a vapid tin whistle, or getting drowned out by pipes. This is particularly a problem on the later CDs where a larger number of instruments are at play and the production challenges are greater. That is why this early album, Soft May Morn, with its sparse accompaniment, is the most even and unspotty of the five Bonnie Rideout albums in print, IMHO.

Pop Music:

Pop Music