Kate writes: I was drawn to the idea of separation between the physical world and the supernatural in Celtic traditional song, as many Gaelic songs and stories demonstrate strong evidence that people believed in fairies. It got me thinking about what might have brought this about, and what other traditions may have influenced these beliefs such as Nordic traditions. I stumbled upon this poem written by 19th century Danish poet, Adam Oehlenschlager, and immediately recognised its connection and similarly to Scottish fairy tales. This is a tale of transformation. It tells of an ordinary girl who becomes a mermaid and is separated from her family in the sea and from all life. For me this made for interesting reflection upon the idea that there used to be many folk who believed in such mythical creatures. Perhaps they all got eaten up by the sea! I adapted this beautiful ballad poem, set it to song and had a lot of fun arranging it with the band.
credits
from Songs of Separation,
released January 29, 2016
Music by Kate Young and lyrics by Adam Oehlenschlager, Kate Young
a friend introduced me to this album two winters ago, and it's very quickly become a staple in my household (it isn't the holiday season until sing we all merrily plays).
the tracks that particularly strike me though are heading for home, the bear song, and the old churchyard - the way the world cycles on, the turning of the wheel, life and death in a beautiful dance. we could despair that our time is short, but we seek joy and love again and again.
I love this album. sophie
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