The Celtic Viol
Savall; Lawrence-King
Alia Vox AVSA9865

Release date May 2009

Jordi Savall’s latest release The Celtic Viol comes as a result of his meticulous research into the background and performance history of the works. It is ‘An Homage to the Irish and Scottish Musical Traditions’ and Savall uses three different instruments to musically illustrate 29 airs and dances. What is at once apparent is Savall’s idiomatic style and the similarity in sound to that of the traditional fiddle. He explains that his first acquaintance with the genre was in 1977-8 whilst he was in Kilkenny during the festival and was struck by the vitality of the street musicians and their music. The first track The Musical Priest / Scotch Mary conveys this optimistic feeling and is further enhanced by the lilting Irish harp accompaniment provided by Andrew Lawrence-King. There is plenty of contrast in the variety of mood of the chosen pieces, and this combined with the subtle change of instrument here and there gives added interest and certainly helps keep the listener alert! Lawrence-King adds considered accompaniments to about half of the pieces although I must confess I prefer it when Savall is left to his own devices! My personal highlight is the penultimate track Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of his Second Wife. This heart-rending unaccompanied lament suits the slightly richer-sounding 6-string treble viol perfectly. The harmonic overtones are enhanced by the resonant acoustic of the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes in Catalonia where the whole album was recorded last year. The accompanying booklet (translated in 8 languages including Gaelic!) is highly informative and includes some interesting historic paintings, among them one of Edinburgh Castle that dates from 1730.

Reviewed by Dawn Cooke