Our Review
Care to visit another place and time? Scotch Mist's "Holly & the Ivy" will transport you back to Merry Olde England in a flash! This instrumental CD, with Lynne Barnes on the Celtic harp and Roger Dale on the recorder and positive organ (a small organ popular in well-to-do medieval homes), presents the very best of ancient holiday fare with Celtic flair.
"The Holly & the Ivy" overflows with holiday cheer, packing 27 wonderful carols into one CD. Barnes and Dale provide their own skillful arrangements, bringing a new charm to well-worn numbers. The artists' selections are wide-ranging and tasteful, and they happen to include some of my all-time favorites--"Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day," "In the Bleak Midwinter," and "Noel Nouvelet." The disc also features several excellent medleys, including the opening "Twas the Moon of Wintertime/What Child is This?/Bethlehem Stall", "Patapan/Masters in this Hall" and "The Gloucester Wassail/Here We Come A'Wassailing."
Barnes' gentle harp and Dale's crystal-clear recorder are a winning team, successfully creating a soothing and cheery medieval atmosphere in your home (minus the bubonic plague and other nasty medieval moments). The arrangements are deceptively simple, yet sophisticated. The music is absolutely first-class.
A little time-travel might be good for you this holiday season. Let Scotch Mist recreate the Middle Ages for you with "The Holly & the Ivy."
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2004)
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From the liner notes:
Scotch Mist:
Lynne Barnes (celtic harp)
Roger Dale (recorders)
Celtic Harp - Lynne Barnes plays a modern Caswell Celtic harp, styled after the ancient triangular harps made famous by Irish harpers. With a curved head and a bowed front pillar, Barnes' harp has a range of 4 ½ octaves. Although limited in range - it is naturally tuned without sharps aor flats but sharps may be obtained by using blades - it is an expressive and evocative instrument.
Recorder - like the Celtic harp, the recorder is an ancient instrument, dating from as early as 1150 A.D. It is a forerunner of the cross-blown flute and is played vertically like an oboe or clarinet. Although the family of recorders includes eight instruments of differing sizes and registers, only the soprano and alto recorders are used in this album.
Positive Organ - small organs were popular instruments in well-to-do medieval homes. The organ used on this album is a modern instrument fitted with gedact pipes that replicate and compliment the bright, clear sound of the recorder. Dale constructed this instrument in 1968 from an English kit.
From the website:
Music for all occasions: Lynne Barnes on Celtic harp and Roger Dale on recorders perform Celtic, folk and light classical music.
Scotch Mist
The Holly & the Ivy
Artist link
Label: Scotch Mist
Length: 54 minutes
Genre: Celtic
Release: 2001
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| 'Twas the Moon of Wintertime/What Child is This?/Bethlehem Stall |
| Patapan/Masters in this Hall |
| Il est ne |
| Blessed Be that Maid Marie |
| The Friendly Beasts |
| Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God |
| God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen |
| In the Bleak Midwinter |
| Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella |
| Nöel Nouvelet |
| Love Came Down at Christmas |
| Arabian Dance/We Three Kings of Orient Are |
| The Holly and the Ivy |
| Deck the Halls |
| I Wonder as I Wander |
| Fum, Fum, Fum |
| When as the Rose of Jericho |
| Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day |
| Away in a Manger/Infant Holy/Away in a Manger |
| Still, Still, Still |
| Cherry Tree Carol |
| To Us A Little Child is Born |
| Go, Tell It on the Mountain |
| The Snow Lay on the Ground |
| The Gloucester Wassail/Here We Come A'Wassailing |
| Irish Carol |
| Silent Night/Peace, Peace |