Alison McMorland

GordeannaMcCulloch

Corrina Hewat

Sheila Stewart

Aileen Carr

Elspeth Cowie

Sheena Wellington

Karine Polwart

Anne Neilson

The atmosphere at the end of the Scots Women concert at Celtic Connections could be summed up in one word, euphoric. Three hard days of rehearsals had transformed sixteen individual singers - representing the wealth of singing talent in Scotland today - into a stage performance that may prove to be a watershed in the concert hall presentation of traditional song.

Brian McNeill, the musical director of the concert, once again demonstrated his vision and ability to coax more than just the sum of the parts out of the performers involved. The original plan was to produce a studio album to follow on from the concert, but events conspired to make a live recording the most realistic option.

If the thought of a one-off performance in front of an audience of over one thousand people wasn't enough to get the adrenalin flowing, the extra pressure of a live recording certainly was. In the event the concert ran smoothly with an easy interaction with the audience and many memorable highlights.

The conventional wisdom is that instrumental standards have risen as musicians have built on the foundation of the previous generation. This concert demonstrated that the same is true of song. The singers on stage all learned their craft performing in folk clubs and, either directly of indirectly, from the generation that included Jeannie Robertson, Lizzie Higgins, Belle Stewart, and Willie Scott.

The number of singers on stage imposed severe limitations on the time available for any one person to demonstrate the breadth of their repertoire, but taken collectively the concert provided a showcase not only for the strength of the singers, but for the depth and variety of the Scots song repertoire. The 'backing band' comprising Duncan MacGillvary, Andy Thorburn, Corinna Hewat, Annie Grace, Mike Travis and Brian McNeill demonstrated their skill with sensitive and imaginative arrangements.

Heather Heywood

Cilla Fisher

Stravaig

Maureen Jelks

Jean McMonies

Ian Green

Brian McNeill

Moira Greenwood

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