Songs from the North Country (180 g) (2LP)

As great lovers of traditional music, Rosemary Standley and François Lazarevitch were bound to meet one day. The founding leader of Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien proposed collaborating on a programme of English ballads with the iconic singer from the legendary rock band Moriarty, who has already recorded two equally iconic albums for Alpha, Love I Obey (Alpha 538) and Schubert in Love (Alpha 418): “This repertoire suits her musical style and her voice perfectly; she brings her experience of folk music and popular song. The old ballads that Child and Sharp collected in the late 19th century are classics of the genre.” Rosemary continues: “This repertoire is magnificent. The essence of American folk music lies in these English, Scottish and Irish ballads – it’s a genre that resonates with me very naturally.” With a carefully chosen array of instruments – baroque harp, viola da gamba, pandora, Scottish bodhrán drum and, of course, the flutes and bagpipes so dear to Lazarevitch – plus a superb group of singers and musicians, Rosemary and François set sail for the North in the wake of Alfred Deller, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and Simon & Garfunkel, who had also fallen in love with these tales of sailors, fairs, a tailor and his mouse, murder, betrayal and revenge.