Search - Niamh Parsons :: In My Prime

So here's to you, Niamh!

callie-b | 09/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Niamh Parsons has an unerring sense in choosing good songs that are suited to her gracious, warm voice. The traditional songs are unusual: "Green Grass it Grows Bonny" is a hauntingly sad song about a maiden with two sweethearts ('I just said I loved you to set your mind at ease, but when I am from you I'll love whom I please'); "Annan Waters", sung in séan nos (unaccompanied old style) perfection; and "Black is the Colour", familiar to American folkies, is given a beautiful treatment. Perhaps my favorite is a newer song by Alan Bell: "So here's to you" -- which we should all sing at farewells and special gatherings. The more you listen to this voice, the more in love with it you will be."

In her prime, indeed

Jerome Clark | Canby, Minnesota | 12/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like its predecessor Blackbirds and Thrushes, In My Prime is an appealingly unaffected, straightforward collection of mostly traditional songs from Ireland's vast repertoire, with emphasis on Niamh (pronounced Neeve) Parsons's calm, capable vocals. In other words, no evidence of the Phil Spectorish production which -- I may be being unduly optimistic here -- seems to be falling out of favor among Celtic-music revivalists. It's just guitar, mandolin, piano, accordion, and bass, and often not even these. Parsons can deliver an unaccompanied ballad just fine, and when she's dueting with her sister Anne Parsons-Dunne (as in the title song and the venerable Child ballad "Two Sisters"), you're entering heaven's Anglo-Celtic district. Nobody who does "Lakes of Coolfin" will ever hear a complaint from me about anything. And does anyone know when last in living memory "Black Is the Color" was recorded?"

In depth ballad singing.

Callie | Portland, OR United States | 06/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These songs are all old ballads, some by well known writers and some are old traditional tunes. Niamh Parsons does very well at reviving these old tunes. She's learned these songs from recordings by famous artists like Clannad and also from meetings with fellow artists like Karan Casey and Frank Harte. She does very well at making the music sound so purely traditional, with no keyboard synthesis, and accompniant on instruments like the guitar, harmonica, accordian, fiddle, and sometimes piano. She also sings a cappella, where her strong alto takes a meaning of it's own. She also sings with her sister and together they bring very deep meaning to these old ballad songs. These songs come from throughout the British Isles, Ireland, Scottland, Wales, and England. Many deal with such themes as love, true love, lost love, and false love. It's for that reason that "When I Was In My Prime" is the perfect title track. This is a traditional English melody in which the flowers symblize virtues. The pink symbolizes curtesy, the violet is modesty, the red rose is true love, and the willow tree is sorrow. Niamh sings with a very beutiful drone. A similar version of this songs is known as "Seeds of Love", and one notable version is Loreena McKennitt's version. I shuold confess that my favorite song is the very sad, "Orphan's Wedding", where I so loved her voice and the moving harmonica. It does go to show that she can sing well both with instruments and without instruments. I could go on for a long time describing how wonderful she is at performing each and every one of these songs. It's music that can bring tears to the eyes. Lovers of old traditional music will feel right at home here, with the way the Niamh Parsons preserves the old ballads, sounding so pure in tradition."