Volume 23 Issue 2 - October 2017

and there that really dazzle.
The disc contains a mix of traditional
and original compositions, with most of
the band members contributing originals
in true ensemble fashion. The songs alternate
between plaintive ballads and rousing
dance and celebration songs. Being a sucker
for a low clarinet, the opening track, Atlas
Revolt, grabbed me right off the bat. Ruckus
in Ralja with its evocation of dance halls
of Eastern Europe and the moody restraint
of Andale are other standouts.
The instrumentation is essentially the same
throughout and although using a variety
of techniques and approaches brings some
distinctiveness, I have to say that about
halfway through the album the songs started
to sound somewhat the same. But fans of this
style of music will no doubt find plenty to
enjoy and will revel in the soundscape of the
“Old World,” in the hands of inventive “New
World” musicians.
Cathy Riches
An Dàn – Gaelic Songs for a Modern World
Mary Ann Kennedy
ARC Music EUCD 2737 (arcmusic.co.uk)
! On this inspired
recording, Glasgow
gal Mary Ann
Kennedy wears
a number of
exquisite hats,
including vocalist,
pianist, composer,
arranger, lyricist
and co-executive producer. The CD title,
An Dàn, translates as A Song or perhaps
the more apropos A Destiny. The project is
comprised of 11 brilliantly arranged songs –
some ancient, some contemporary – and all
rendered in flawless Scots-Gaelic, with an
array of traditional instruments and thrilling
vocals in tow. It’s not necessary to be a Gaelic
speaker to appreciate this collection, as the
sheer musicality and emotional depth of the
project transcend any cultural or linguistic
barriers. An Dàn is a marvelous affirmation
of the survival of Gaelic languages – even in
the face of the most oppressive 19th-century
imperialism and near cultural genocide.
The opening track, Seinn, Horo, Seinn
(Sing!) is rife with gorgeous string lines as
well as Kennedy’s lovely, diaphanous, pitchpure,
soaring soprano. Next up is Óran
do dh’lain Dómhnallach (Song for John
MacDonald) which features a poem by
the 20th-century Gaelic literary giant, Irig
MacDonald. Gaels have a real poetic tradition
of both eulogy and elegy, and nowhere on the
CD is this more evident than on this composition.
A tribal, male chorus adds to the track,
reflecting MacDonald’s postwar life in Ghana
and South Africa. Kennedy wrote the song in
that tradition, and she also utilizes a sample
of a vocal sequence from the Tswana and
Sotho Voices.
Dàn Ur do Fhlóraidh NicNill (A New Song
for Flora MacNeil) is arranged with sophistication
and dissonance, and invokes ancient,
Iron Age musical motifs. Finlay Wells’ light
and clear guitar work is enhanced by Jarlath
Henderson’s pipes – and with the addition
of the strings, a sort of Celtic wall of sound
is created. Two other standouts include
Grádh Geal Mo Chridhe (My True Love) –
a complex and masterfully produced track
featuring superb choral segments and Air
Leathad Slèibhe (On a Hill-land Slope) with
lyrics by another 20th-century Gaelic literary
giant, George Campbell Hay. This heady tune
conjures up a vision of ancient Celtic settlements
enveloped in mist and magic, as well as
deeply-rooted spiritual connections to Mother
Earth and reverence for her cycles.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
Something in the Air
Music Appreciation as a Single
Serving or Seven-Course Meal
KEN WAXMAN
Marketing considerations aside, how best can a musician mark an
important milestone or significant creativity? With recorded music
the result is usually multiple discs. In honor of French bassist Joëlle
Léandre’s recent 60th birthday for instance, there’s A Woman’s
Work … (NotTwo MW950-2 notwo.com), an eight-disc boxed set.
Almost six hours of music, the 42 tracks were recorded between
2005 and 2016, comprising one solo disc and the rest intense interaction
with such associates as trumpeter Jean-Luc Cappozzo, tenor
saxophonist Evan Parker, violist Mat Maneri, guitarist Fred Frith,
percussionist Zlatko Kaučič, pianists Agustí Fernández or Irène
Schweizer and vocalists Lauren Newton or Maggie Nicols. With
improvisers from six different countries working alongside, the bassist’s
charm, humor, vigour and adaptability are highlighted.
Solo on CD 6 from 2005, Léandre’s improvisations are as mesmerizing
as they are mystifying. Consisting of bow slaps resonating with
woody ballast, her circular attack is solipsistic enough to confirm its
singularity, but so alive with twists that she sometimes seems pleasantly
taken aback by what’s produced. As she plucks or saws her strings, at points she could be
two bull fiddlers working in counterpoint. The climax is reached on the final track when, like
a marathoner getting an energy boost, she extends still further, working some romantic beauty
into her arco splays, while at the same time mocking it with vocalizing ranging from guttural
growls to bel-canto gurgles. As unlike as a chocolate chip sundae and a tofu pudding, the bassist’s
two 2016 vocal duets are equally valid. Eight performances with the American Newton on
CD3 are the most traditional. With silky voice, the singer hopscotches among scat, lullabies,
octave jumps and keening cries, as Léandre’s mischievous side appears. Besides sharpened
slices that create spiccato echoes, she verbalizes an ironic obbligato to Newton’s singing. Under
her breath, Léandre bawls out unexpected noises that are sly without being disruptive.
Léandre, the Swiss Schweizer and the Scot Nicols have been Les Diaboliques for more than 25
years, and their performance on CD1 is cohesive, since Léandre’s disruptive tendencies can’t
dominate when the others are textural dissectors as well. The showdown is mostly Léandre-
Nicols, with the bull fiddler mumbling and projecting mercurial string buzzes as a divergent
sideshow to the vocalist. More stream of consciousness than self-involved, Nicols could
be playing all parts in a radio play, encompassing crone cackling, infant cries, feline purrs
and canine yelps. Sliding from brouhaha to babble, she opens up the performance enough for
instrumental virtuosity to make her vocal gymnastics stand out. More concentrated levels of
instrumental dexterity are the main thrusts of Léandre’s 2011 meeting with Maneri on CD2;
her match-up with Frith in 2016 on CD5; her 2015 tête-à-tête with Cappozzo (CD4); and the
meeting of minds with Kaučič from 2015 (CDs 7 and 8). Frith’s alt-rock background makes that
duo the most distinctive, if not the most frustrating. Committed to knob twisting, Frith sashays
among rock, country and outer-space-like tones. Léandre’s acoustically dynamic thrusts
almost dare him to use his mechanized equipment to gain the upper hand, then volley
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