The Scotsman 5th Nov 2020
Album Reviews
FOLK
Catriona McKay: Love in Secret (Glimster Records) *****
Catriona McKay is a widely acclaimed harpist, notably in her longstanding duo with fiddler Chris Stout.
Here, however, she plays solo in a love letter to her instrument in which she luxuriates in its magically glittering character, not least in the way she dwells on the opening title track of her eight-movement suite, Love In Secret, in which she explores and elaborates on some classic old Irish harp tunes, allowing their melodic substance to come and go.
There’s a very personalised major-minor nudging, for instance, of Si Bheag Si Mhor, which never loses sight of a well-loved tune, while another old favourite, Carolan’s Concerto, receives cheekily scintillating treatment.
Glitter Path is sparklingly Irish but with a faint Latin American echo to its staccato cascading.
Dedicated to two harpists who both died tragically young, the album enshrines their memory with forward-looking brilliance.