In the course of his short life of 37 years, Burns proved not only to be an extremely prolific poet and songsmith, but also an avid collector of the traditional music and songs of rural Scotland. In his role as folklorist, he collected many beautiful pieces of music from the oral tradition that otherwise would have been lost.
Burns was a humanitarian, libertarian and equalitarian: his sympathies were for the common man, yet his poems have captured the hearts of all classes and nationalities. Burns' own experience conditioned his poetry; his experience was fundamental and there for universal and timeless. Although he died in poverty at Dumfries, 21st July, 1796, he was given a grandiose funeral, the "turn out" being one of the most extraordinary known to history.
Andy M. Stewart (born 8 September 1952, Alyth, Perthshire) is a Scottish singer and songwriter, formerly the frontman for Silly Wizard.
Stewart toured with Silly Wizard until the band broke up in 1988. Since then, he has recorded four solo albums, as well as three with Manus Lunny. Several of Stewart's songs have become well known within the folk community, including "The Ramblin' Rover", "Golden, Golden", "The Queen of Argyll", and "The Valley of Strathmore." In addition, his renditions of classic Robert Burns songs have been well received.
Andy M. Stewart - Songs Of Robert Burns (Wundertüte)
(192 kbps, cover art included)
7 Kommentare:
hank you so much for posting this. Stewart deftly interprets Burn's lyrics and his versions of 'Is There For Honest Poverty (For A' That)' and 'Green Grow The Rashes, O' are the best versions I have ever heard. I have always regarded him as having a honeyed golden voice that can more than competently express, when appropriate, the boldness, passion, and defiance of Burn's poems while being also to express the poignancy of great lyrics such as the lyrics in the two above-mentioned poems.
I was fortunate enough to see Stewart and Silly Wizard perform in an outdoor music festival in Massachusetts in 1986. I had all of their albums and love traditional Irish and Scottish music. I also enjoy the music they have written and composed. My parents, who were ardent fans of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy also attended the festival and I recommended that they watch Silly Wizard's set. They did and afterward I asked my fairly conservative father what he thought of the band. He responded that he greatly enjoyed their music and thought they were very talented. He especially enjoyed Stewart's singing. However, he found their appearance 'interesting.' I knew instantly what he meant, no knit sweaters or peasant or skally caps for Silly Wizard; instead, Johnny Cunningham was wearing black leather pants and a a matching jacket, had feathered long hair, and also a silver earring hanging from an ear, In other words, the band was dressed more like a rock band of that time rather a traditional folk group. To me, they were expert in bridging generations with their music and I was saddened when they broke up two years later. My mourning did not last long because I heard and bought Stewart's 'Songs Of Robert Burns.'
My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer four months after she and my father sat behind my wife and me to watch Silly Wizard. She had beaten breast cancer eight years earlier but would fall victim to the disease in her lungs seven months after she was diagnosed. On the day she died, I played Silly Wizard's "When Summer Ends' from its last studio album 'A Glint Of Silver' for my youngest brother. The song was a musical eulogy written by Phil Cunningham for the late Tich Richardson and its melody is wistful and intensely moving, and has always caused me to reflect on the brevity of and appreciate the allotment of time we have that we call life.
Still as great as the contributions of Phil and Johny Cunningham were, it was and is Stewart' singing that I found and find most compelling. On the one hand, he can sing sad songs without being melodramatic; on the other, he can sing a rousing Burns' lyric as well as anyone I have ever heard and makes me a nondrinker wish I had a stein of Guinness or Jameson's to rhythmically bang on the table to the songs beat. In my opinion, he and Dick Gaughan are without rivals in their ability to infuse Burn's lyrics with new life and insight. I am very grateful that you have posted the music of both here and hope you continue to do so.
Thanks a lot for sharing your moving memories with us! All the best!
Maybe I've overlooked it but nobody mentioned that Andy M Stewart passed away December 27, 2015.
May he rest in peace and thank you for the upload.
Buck
May he rest in peace! Thanks a lot for the information & best wishes!
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