Search - Scottish Traditional, Percy Grainger, Alice Chambers Bunten :: Songs of Scotland / Marie McLaughlin · Malcolm Martineau

A disappointment from Hyperion

NotATameLion | Michigan | 06/21/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I do not wish to be too harsh on this album...there is nothing glaringly wrong with it. My main quibble is with the title: "Songs of Scotland." These songs may well be "from" Scotland...but they are not "of Scotland." The music on "Songs of Scotland" is great--as long as you are looking for very English, semi-operatic readings of these Scottish songs. Mrs. McLaughlin (an opera singer) sings beautifully; but in the style she is most accustomed too. Mr. Martineau certainly knows his way around a piano and as with Mrs. McLaughlin's singing, I find no fault in his playing here. My quibble, which may well be minor to some...was that I expected much more "Scottish" sounding renditions of these songs; in this regard, I was disappointed.This disc is OK in and of itself...recommendable even...but consider yourself warned. Now you know what you'll be getting."

Gorgeous CD

NotATameLion | 09/15/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I actually haven't taken this CD out of the player since I got it. In my humble opinion. Hyperion is the classiest label going; in fact, I'll buy Hyperion CDs even without being familiar with the singers, because I trust the producers. I saw this CD classified in the folk section at the library--but I knew better. Marie McLaughlin is a real singer, not a folk singer, and she does justice to these beautiful songs. I'd rather hear a classically trained singer sing folk songs than a folk singer sing anything."