Rachel Walker: Press

Rachel Walker
Fon Reul-Sholus
Skipinnish Records SKIPCD09

‘Fon Reul-Sholus’ (Under the Star Light) is a lovely successor to Rachel Walker’s debut solo album ‘Braighe Loch Iall’. The new recording is expansive in sound, the instrumentation unobtrusive yet matchless, and cutting across it all is Rachel Walker’s immensely beautiful voice. As with Gaelic song albums recently released by Jenna Cumming and Kathleen MacInnes, you detect that all that is on Rachel’s agenda is a wish to share her love for these exquisite songs, many of them her favourites, and a desire to convey their joy, humour and sadness as honestly as possible.

I very much like the way Rachel combines mainly acoustic with occasional electronic instrumentation – it succeeds every time. A wonderful example is the haunting sound of Allan Henderson’s keyboard accompaniment on the very poignantly sung ‘Mo Rùn Geal Óg’ – this brings instantly to mind those breathtaking Matheson/Shaw concert duets. A fuller sound is achieved on ‘Ho rò, Chan eil Cadal Orm’, where Rachel’s piano playing is enriched by Malcolm Jones’ sensitive guitar playing. Rachel’s voice is never more appealing than when in the sparsest of instrumental settings, and producer Allan Henderson captures the nuances of this very special voice brilliantly. If I have one small criticism, it’s that the slight ‘soft-rock’ feel of the album’s last track slightly detracts from the mood of all that’s gone before, but with a voice like this, all is forgiven! Elsewhere, there’s lilting and lively puirt a beul, a highly imaginative arrangement of ‘Cò Ni Mire Rium’, and a hauntingly sung St Kilda love song with thrilling, moving fiddle playing from Archie McAllister.

This is beautifully honest music, exquisitely and gracefully performed by a musician who clearly adores what she is doing.

That Rachel Walker is not a native Gaelic speaker, nor is she even of Scottish origin, makes all the more astounding, the passion and splendour that Rachel injects into each song on "Fon Reul - Sholus" -- which translates as "Under the Starlight." Rachel's achingly beautiful voice dominates this exquisite collection of largely traditional, Gaelic material.

The album opens with the delightful Blair Douglas composition, "Ruith na Gaoith" (Chasing The Wind); a tender love song to a mysterious young woman. Rachel's rippling piano accompaniment provides the ideal backdrop for her flawlessly clear and expressive voice. Though sung in a language that I don't understand, Rachel's vocal delivery perfectly conveys the sentiments of the writer -- the passion and yearning being immediately evident, even to the laziest listener.

Rachel's vivid vocals are equally adept when applied to more upbeat and rhythmic material, such as the waulking song "Cò ni Mire Rium?" (Who Will Flirt With Me) or a particularly engaging set of Puirt a Beul (mouth music); both of which feature the befitting percussion of James MacIntosh. There is even a distinctly pop-tinged arrangement of the Runrig song "Fichead Bliadhna" (Twenty Years), featuring some rollicking banjo picking!

My personal favourite has to be the charming rendition of "Than a h-Uain air an Tulaich" (The Lambs are on the Hill), a translation of the Irish song "The Lambs on the Green Hills." Rachel's dramatic expressiveness remains so faithful to the material that you can almost smell the hillside and feel the mist upon your cheeks. This song recently made an appearance on an album by The Chieftains, with vocals by Emmylou Harris. It is tempting to imagine Rachel joining that combination and trading verses with Emmylou -- it would be breathtaking.

Rachel is accompanied by an impressive ensemble of traditional musicians, combining seamlessly with Rachel's vocals to create an effortlessly chaste ambience. However, for a moment of utter indulgence, go straight to Rachel's haunting a-cappella recital of "Mo Chràdhghal Bochd" (Sad and Heartsore my Weeping). With performances like this, Rachel is sure to become one of the foremost exponents of Gaelic song.

For Fon Reul Sholus

Rachel Walker was a student of Scottish Traditional Music at the RSAMD in Glasgow when I first heard her sing. I was immediately impressed by her considerable vocal skills, but more than that, I found her commitment and enthusiasm inspiring. Here was a gifted young musician with an obvious passion for Gaelic and for the Gaelic song tradition in particular - a passion which has grown over subsequent years and has resulted in her learning the language.

The release of Rachel's highly acclaimed debut album in 2004 served to consolidate her status as one of the Gaelic music world's newest, brightest stars, and this, her second album, can only enhance that richly-deserved success. To her many fans it will be essential listening, and to those who have yet to make her acquaintance I cannot recommend it highly enough.

For Fon Reul Sholus

"Her crystal-clear voice notwithstanding, Rachel Walker shows a continuing respect for the Gaelic language and a growing understanding of the nuances and complexities of Gaelic song.  A brightly shining example !"
 

For Fon Reul-Sholus

"Tha dòigh seinn aig Rachel a tha gad chumail a  leantail na sgeòila bho thoiseach gu deireadh gach òran a ghabhas i " 

(Rachel's style of singing captivates you from  the start to finish of each song)

Rachel's immaculate and truly lovely first CD, Bràighe Loch Iall, captivated me intensely during the first few months of this year, though it had already been out for close on 18 months by the time I'd got hold of a copy! I'm pleased to be quicker off the mark with her followup, which was only released a few weeks ago. For a brief summary of Rachel's musical background and CV, it's easiest to refer you to my review of Bràighe Loch Iall; all I need to say here is that she's an extraordinarily fine singer who, though originally from Salisbury, has forged a healthy career for herself in interpreting Gaelic song. So this new album from Rachel is another fabulous collection of songs sung in Gaelic, but although again many of these are traditional in origin some have been composed by bards like Mary MacLeod, while there's even a contemporary number to close with (see below). The majority of the arrangements are by Rachel herself in collaboration with her producer Allan Henderson (who also contributes plenty of his signature piano playing), except for just two songs, credit for the setting of which is jointly down to Rachel and Runrig's Malcolm Jones (who also plays guitars and other instruments on the tracks). The latter constitute a brace of high points on an already highly consistent disc: the lovely Inbhir Àsdal Nam Buadh extols the beauty of Inverasdale (and I too can vouch for that!), while Rachel owns up to having learned the cautionary Ho Rò, I Am Unable To Sleep from her sister Abi! Like Bràighe Loch Iall, Fon Reul-Sholus (Under The Star-light - the significance of which title escapes me for the moment...) presents an extremely varied sequence of moods and textures; it's not surprising, then, that once again Rachel's able to convey the essence (and detail) of the song texts without the listener feeling the alienness of the language to be a barrier. Her singing is so very attractive in tone, with wonderfully clear diction, and I marvel afresh each time I experience the delightfully relaxed ebb and flow of her interpretations. Each and every song brings something different and refreshing in its setting too, from the eerie percussive piano brushings that accompany the playful, fairylike waulking song (Who Will Flirt With Me?) to the crisp drumkit rhythm used for the altogether rockier Twenty Years (a composition from the pens of Calum and Rory MacDonald of Runrig) which ends the CD. I loved the opener, the Blair Douglas song Chasing The Wind, with its glorious yet simple and effective blend of massed harmony vocals, piano, fiddle and guitar, but my very favourite track is Rachel's seriously beautiful, relatively unadorned treatment of the tender love song Mo Ghaol Òigear A Chùil Duinn from St Kilda (with only Archie McAllister's keening fiddles for company). The Puirt A Beul (mouth music) selection is predictedly invigorating, with some inventive percussion from James MacIntosh offsetting the accordion, guitar, fiddles and piano, while Rachel's confident singing of the lament Mo Chràdhghal Bochd (the disc's only purely unaccompanied track, sadly) manages to convey both steadfastness and vulnerability. Rachel's stature as an outstanding new talent surely cannot now be questioned. And in performances such as these, Rachel (along with other significantly impressive young singers like Julie Fowlis), is showing us that Gaelic song need not be impenetrable at all.

Top line-up for Rachel's new album  

A HIGHLAND singer with strong Rossshire connections is due to release her new album in June.

Rachel Walker, who was introduced to Gaelic song after moving from south of the border to Kinlochewe, Wester Ross, at age eight, is due to launch Fon Reul-Sholus (Under the Star Light). Her second album of Gaelic song, it features a spectacular lineup of accompanying musicians, boasting the likes of Allan Henderson of Blazin' Fiddles, Malcolm Jones of Runrig, Ross Martin of Cliar and Kathleen Boyle of Dochas. The album was also produced by Allan Henderson.

Since the launch of her first album, Braigh Loch Iall, on Skippinish Records in 2004, Rachel has been busy juggling motherhood and her increasingly busy work schedule. Rachel is an acclaimed Gaelic song tutor and singer, with her talent taking her all over Europe. She regularly features with the band Skippinish and performs as a solo artist.

She recently performed Fichead Bliadhna at the Runrig Flowers of the West tribute concert in May 2005. The song speaks about the anger of Gaelic culture being left out of Highland education and this poignant track features on her new album.

The Rachel Walker band will also be performing at Blas, an international music festival across the Highlands in September 2006. The festival draws audiences from all over the world and features some of the best Highland musicians. The Rachel Walker band will officially launch Fon Reul-Sholus at MacNabs, Inverness on Sunday, June 18, before heading off on a tour of Scotland, starting Friday, June 23.

For Braighe Loch Iall

Rachel Walker's 'Braighe Loch Iall' is an exquisite, moving collection of much-loved Gaelic songs by a musician of outstanding vocal beauty — a powerful reminder that the human voice is the most powerful instrument after all — Walker's clarity of tone and elegant vocal nuance are a joy to listen to. Kenna Campbell taught and mentored Rachel through her RSAMD studies, and writes: "Her performance became the yardstick against which I measured later students. To date she is unsurpassed.

This is Walker's first solo album (following earlier recordings with Dochas/Skippinish), and it received a quietish, understated launch in Inverness this summer. Runrig's Malcolm Jones provides the steadiest of hands as producer — the instrumentation of each song is beautifully and subtly arranged to maximise the impact of Walker's magnificent voice, which is allowed to flourish, high and pure, throughout. The sublime title track sees Allan Henderson leading on piano (he plays with a lovely touch!), whilst on 'Smeorach Clann Domnaill' Jones leads on acoustic guitar. Jones also plays electric guitars (with restrained elegance!), accordion, basses, keyboards and percussion — his role is fundamental to this album's beauty. The laments are performed unaccompanied and are thereby all the more moving. Other contributing musicians are Donald Black (mouth organ), Iain MacFarlane (fiddle), and Andrew Stevenson (small pipes/whistle/flute) — their impact on the album is memorable. The backing vocalists are another significant strength — Abigail Walker, Julie Fowlis, Mary Ann Kennedy, Angus MacPhail and James Graham provide rousing, robust vocals, especially on the 'waulking/rowing songs' and 'puirt a beul'. I could listen to this album all day.

This recording serves to convince me that the song tradition of Scotland's Highlands & Islands not only transcends language barriers, but also remains Britain's most hidden cultural treasure. This has quickly become my personal favourite album of the year.

This is an extraordinarily fine CD by a very fine young singer: even more extraordinary, you might think, since it’s sung exclusively in Gaelic and yet the singer was born in Salisbury! Rachel moved to Kinlochewe (Wester Ross) at the age of eight, and was introduced to Gaelic song at primary school, where with encouragement she developed her latent talent for making the songs her own. After studying at the RSAMD under renowned Gaelic singer Kenna Campbell, Rachel formed the band Dòchas (though she left them not long thereafter). She then guested and recorded with the band Skippinish, but Bràighe Loch Iall is her first solo recording. It’s been out a year or more, and a followup is on the way, but this is such a good record that it deserves your attention (and purchase!) before moving onto the next one! It presents a succession of Gaelic songs, all but one being of traditional origin, and all arranged by Rachel herself in conjunction with Runrig’s Malcolm Jones (who also produced the album). The potential impenetrability of the material for non-Gaelic-speakers is absolutely not a problem, due to Rachel’s immensely attractive singing; her voice is easy on the ear, mature and relaxed in delivery, with an enviable clarity of tone, yet full of delightful nuances of expression that reveal themselves on repeated listening. The musical arrangements possess an ideal degree of restraint and elegance that perfectly matches her singing, and there’s variety aplenty between individual tracks: some (the laments, ie. tracks 2, 6 and 10) are performed unaccompanied – and so very movingly too, with an unerring sense of proportional pace and gentle momentum. Guest musicians are exceptionally well utilised: some songs (like O, Iain Ghlinne Cuaich and the title track) centre around the sublime piano playing of Allan Henderson, others make good use of percussion to mirror the activities depicted in the song (rowing, waulking). Some songs engage Iain MacFarlane (fiddle) and Andrew Stevenson (small pipes, whistle or flute) in varying combinations with the other musicians, with creative, enchanting and unusual additional touches such as delicate electric and bass guitar and keyboard traceries (courtesy of Malcolm himself) on Smeórach Clann Dòmhnaill, accordion (Malcolm again) on the waulking song Thug Mi ‘n Oidhche Ge B’ Fhad I, just mouth-organ (Donald Black) and guitar accompanying Rachel on the beautiful lullaby Cadal Ciarach Mo Luran, and a full (yet precise) electric “band” sound on the rousing finisher Rathad Iéricho (an Alasdair Codona song, and the album’s only non-traditional selection). And then there’s the fabulous, sturdy backing vocals from – believe this lineup! – Julie Fowlis, Mary Ann Kennedy, Abigail Walker, Angus MacPhail and James Graham … wow! This is an absolutely immaculate CD, lovely to a fault – which is why it’s taken me so long to get this review finished; I can’t stop playing it and I can’t wait for the followup!


David Kidman