Search - Jeannie Robertson, Alan Lomax :: Portraits: Queen Among the Heather

Hearing these recordings of the great Scottish balladeer, one thinks of Marian Anderson and Mahalia Jackson, voices of such emotional energy and tender tone that they can completely overwhelm the unsuspecting heart. These recordings bring the listener into the intimate setting of Alan Lomax's London flat in 1953, where the musicologist documented Robertson's great a cappella repertoire and personal history in interviews. Though she never sang outside of the British Isles, Robertson developed a considerable following during the British folk revival. And yet, upon hearing this voice--with its magical, flute-like purity, its precise vibrato, the whole mystery of its grace--"folk" seems too small and conventional a word. As a singer of traditional British Isle ballads, she was simply without peer. --Roy Kasten