Okay folks, just three more days to go! I recently gave you advance notice that I was going to let some popular genres enjoy their place in the winter sun here, so trust me when I tell you that it would be impossible to find three more diverse pieces of music than those I now have line up for you.
Kicking off this quirky trio is a medley that I’ve specially created from the Scottish Gaelic-folk band Capercaille. Featuring the angelic voice of Karen Matheson, I’ve merged excerpts of five beautiful songs with incredible melodies from “The Blood Is Strong” soundtrack that they created in 1988 for the superb three-part TV documentary series about the Battle of Culloden, the Highland clearances and Gaelic culture in general.
For many people, including myself, this was our first introduction to the band who, a bit like Runrig before them, played a huge part in making this type of music more accessible to a mass audience. My five selections were “Arrival (reprise)”, “Fear A Bhata” (The Boatman - 18th century), “An Ataireachd Ard” (The Eternal Surge Of The Sea - traditional), “Oh Mo Dhuthaich” (Oh My Country - composed by Allan MacPhee, circa 1850) & “Aignish” (Rose Of Brown - Capercaille’s re-working of “An Ribhinn Donn” - traditional).
Hopefully you’ll drop by again tomorrow for something very unusual and completely different!