This is a wonderful album full of traditional Gaelic songs by two fantastic singers who each perform about half of the songs.

Christine Primrose makes her home on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and has been singing traditional Scottish Gaelic songs since she was a child in Carloway. She has had several solo albums out and is an accomplished teacher of Gaelic singing. Brian O'hEadhra is best known as a musician and singer for the group Anam. He is originally from Dublin where he learned Irish Gaelic in school and through traveling to Irish speaking parts of the country. (Fiona Mackenzie, a band mate of O'hEadhra's in Anam, adds backing vocals on some tracks.) According to the CD liner notes they met when O'hEadhra took a class in Scottish Gaelic at Sabhal Mor Ostaig (the Gaelic college in Sleat on the Isle of Skye) where Primrose teaches. They performed together at local ceilidhs and concerts and then decided to make an album together. An Turas is the result.

Lyrics for each song are provided in both English and Gaelic, allowing the listener to understand their meaning. However, the lyrics are not always necessary to understand the feelings behind the words. In "An t-Eilean Mu Thuath," a song about missing home on the Isle of Lewis, you can easily hear the sadness and longing in Primrose's voice. O'hEadhra wrote and sings "An-raoir Bha mi Coiseach." Your heart won't need the translation to understand the meaning of this song, either. (You will have to get the CD if you want to know what the song is about 'cause I'm not telling.)

"Mo Bhean Chomain" is a song I am very familiar with. All the versions I've heard were contemporary in style, so it was refreshing to hear it sung unaccompanied by Primrose's delicate, yet powerful voice. O'hEadhra's voice really shines on "An Goirtin Eornan." This lost-love song really spotlights his vocal range and intricate sense of timing.

Most of the songs are very relaxing and slow in tempo. This is the album's only potential drawback, as it is difficult for me to listen straight through without my attention wandering elsewhere or getting sleepy. However, I never get sleepy while "Fuigfidh Mise an Baile Seo" is on ... O'hEadhra's voice somehow gets inside of my foot and makes it tap along with him.

The recording quality is superb. Voices are very clear and pronounced -- they sounded like they were in my house giving me a personal concert. According to the liner notes, this was the effect they were after. They wanted the album to be full of songs they would sing at an informal gathering at each other's houses. Maybe they sounded like they were in my house because the tracks were recorded in their homes.

An Turas should appeal to all lovers of Scottish and Irish Gaelic singing. With the exception of O'hEadhra's subtle guitar playing on two tracks, the songs are all sung without accompaniment and in a traditional style -- so traditionalists ought to enjoy it. Contemporary fans will hear some well-known Gaelic songs stripped down to their bare core, thus allowing more insight to the meanings of the songs. It would also be a useful and enjoyable adjunct to students learning Gaelic.

One last and very important song to note is "Seathan." This song about a bard traveling through Scotland and Ireland summarizes the content of this album perfectly -- An Turas translates to "The Journey." Primrose and O'hEadhra take you on a musical journey through Scotland and Ireland with their Gaelic songs. Highly recommended.

- Rambles
written by Erika S. Rabideau
published 24 July 2004

[ visit the artist's website ]