Ronald Stevenson - Songs
Susan Hamilton (soprano) John Cameron (piano)
17 settings of Robert Louis Stevenson 1. A Child's Garden of Verses I. Dedication II. Bed in Summer III. The Land of Nod IV. Time to Rise V. Singing VI. Rain VII. Windy Nights VIII. Shadow March IX. My Shadow X. Fairy Bread XI. The Swing XII. Summer Sun XIII. From a Railway Carriage XIV. Autumn Fires XV. When the golden day is done XVI. The Lamplighter XVII. Envoy 6. The Buckie Braes 7. The Quiet Comes In 8. The Bobbin-Winder 9. To the Future 10. O Wha's the Bride 11. Trompe L'Oeil 12. The Bonny Broukit Bairn 13. Fairytales 14. Hallowe'en Sang 15. The Plum Tree 16. The Day is Dyne 17. The Rose of All the World 18. The Droll Wee Man 19. A'e Gowden Lyric A generation ago, Scottish nationalism was a political joke; now the definition of who is allowed to be Scottish in a new independent state gets seriously discussed. And yes, those who have adopted Scotland as their place of residence include composers such as Stevenson and Marcus Blunt - both of whom have been extensively championed in recordings by pianist Murray McLachlan.
Neither Stevenson (born in Blackburn) nor Blunt started out with a palette of Scottish colours, as is evidenced in their work. In both cases, settling in the Borders has allowed a powerful influence both from the landscape and traditional Scottish themes.
Artistically, this is a fine advertisement for the energy of contemporary Scottish culture. There are the usual excellent production values and the Delphian disc can be recommended without hesitation.
Ying Chang
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