REBECCA HILL & CHARLIE STEWART

Originally from the west coast of Scotland, Rebecca Hill plays the harp, while her partner Charlie Stewart, from Perthshire in central Scotland, is a brilliant violinist. Both have collected awards, with Charlie being named Young Traditional Musician of 2017 and Rebecca being voted Artist of the Year 2020. Some might think that a fiddle and harp duo is an unusual configuration and, it has to be said, difficult to appreciate. But no, this is an elegant, ethereal duo.

For their first album, they have chosen a name that is somewhat enigmatic in our country, Thawcrook. It's actually a tool used by farmers in the 19th century to make rope and twine from natural materials such as heather and reeds. And their album reflects this tool, drawing on a wide range of musical sources to create an opus that brilliantly combines Charlie's own compositions with arrangements of tunes from their respective regions.
It's an album that's at times upbeat and energetic, and at other times more zen-like as the strings of the fiddle and harp intertwine, sometimes even sounding like a guitar.
On The Mountain opens the album in a very modern way, with a sound that is both biting and sepulchral. Or Mi Le M'Uilinn by the poet Murdo MacFarlane, known in Karen Matheson's vocal version. And Angus Grant's tribute to the late leader of the band Shooglenifty. Cailleach A'Ghobhainn is the perfect example of the successful marriage of tradition and modernity. The final track, Aonghais Oig Feat, features a surprise guest appearance from Gaelic singer Mischa MacPherson. The cover is an original impressionist map of Scotland with a golden thread linking Rebecca and Charlie's home regions.

Autoproduit RAC01 –rebeccaandcharliemusic@gmail.com