affairs of the harp

reviewed cliarpleasance cabaret bar, edinburghHhHH Folk-song in general is widely caricatured as a by-word for gloom and lamentation. But within the folk scene itself, Gaelic song in particular is the ne plus ultra of woe.

The Highland six-piece Cliar at once embrace and poke fun at this dolorous tradition, for example when translating the title of one archetypically miserable number, It's a Pity I Hadn't Been Born Blind - because then the singer would never have laid eyes on the woman who ruined his life.

At the same time, Cliar set out to present a rather broader picture of their native musical heritage. Their set includes a sizeable proportion of more upbeat material, such as waulking and drinking songs, port a beul and (according to singer Mary Ann Kennedy) all three of the only happy Gaelic love songs in existence.

The vocal numbers - led by Kennedy, Arthur Cormack andMaggie MacDonald - are also interspersed with a handful of lively tune sets, courtesy of Bruce MacGregor on fiddle, guitarist Ross Martin (standing in for regular member Chaz Stewart) and Ingrid Henderson on piano and clrsach, or Gaelic harp.

Perhaps the key characteristic of Cliar's sound is its absence of clutter. Though clearly fashioned with an open ear to contemporary stylings - as in some of the rhythmic treatments, or Henderson's choice of piano chords, or the alignment of lead and harmony vocals - their arrangements represent only subtle, subsidiary shadings around thecentral focus on the songs.

Cormack's softly understated, yearning and resonant delivery, with its delicate quivers of vibrato, is, as ever, an especial treat, and the ensemble blend of male and female registers opens up a wonderful spectrum of light and shade, airiness and weight.

MacGregor's athletic, rich-toned fiddle playing heads up the instrumental interludes, although Henderson takes a memorable turn at the helm on her clrsach, in a brilliantly lissome, coltishly funky set of jigs.

Copyright 2003 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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