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HANNAH RARITY - Neath The Gloaming Star 

HANNAH RARITY - Neath The Gloaming Star 
Private Label HR085NEA 

The Scottish music scene has, in recent years, seen the emergence of many fine young female singers. Hannah Rarity is one of the best and she was justly nominated for Scots Singer of the Year in 2017, and BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Singer in 2018. In this album Hannah covers a range of topics, accompanied by a group of experienced musicians led by, recorded, mixed and produced by Euan Burton.

One of the simplest arrangements is a setting of Jim Reid’s plaintive air for Violet Jacob’s Hallowe’en. In contrast, Hannah’s version of Alison Cross had me bopping round the kitchen. Also included are two of Hannah’s own compositions in a more modern romantic style.

She has mastered the main necessities of good performance, in particular putting across the meaning of the texts, while holding on to the flow and structure of the melodies. Making an album often means being prepared to include material across a breadth of period and style. Hannah has clearly given this a lot of thought. I am not convinced that Braw Sailin’ On The Sea fits snugly into this selection, but it is one of Hannah’s personal favourites.

The album ends with a fine arrangement of Davy Steele’s tribute to his parents, Rose O’ Summerlee, a touching song not often heard these days. This, and also Andy M Stewart’s Where Are You Tonight I Wonder, brought back memories of earlier songsmiths, who paved the way for today’s writers. I hope they too would have approved of Hannah’s choices and her sympathetic performances in this album.

www.hannahrarity.com

Jean Bechhofer


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This album was reviewed in Issue 126 of The Living Tradition magazine.