Various Artists’ The Battle of Prestonpans 1745: Music and Songs of the Campaign
The album is subtitled as “A Companion to the Prestonpans Tapestry.” If you do not know what the Prestonpans Tapestry is, briefly it’s a tapestry instigated by Gordon Prestoungrange. In about 2002, at the Prestoungrange Arts Festival he commissioned Andrew Crummy as designer. The caveat was that it would be like the Bayeux Tapestry — but it has to be one metre longer!
So it came to pass: a tapestry depicting the journey Bonnie Prince Charlie took in 1744 starting in Rome then on through France to Scotland. Amassing his army on the way through Scotland, eventually arriving at Prestonpans with a 2000 strong army. The British Forces led by Johnnie Cope had chased the Jacobites through the Highlands, and marched to meet them at Prestonpans for a battle. The tapestry created by 200 women and 2 men took over 18 months to sew.
The tracks on this album are a selection of songs and music that depict the story and so the album is played as background music wherever the tapestry is displayed. There are 15 tracks on the album supplied by various artists such as Karen Matheson, The Whistlebinkies, Jean Redpath, The McCalmans, The Corries, Sangsters, Ceolberg with Davy Steel, and The 1st Battalion The Black Watch Pipe band. To get the full effect, you must listen to the album whilst viewing the tapestry — but it still makes good listening on its own, particularly if you are well versed or studying English and Scottish history.
You can learn more about the tapestry here, and you can buy the CD this away.
(Greentrax, 2010)
Born in 1945, Peter Massey, Senior Writer, is now living in the city of Chester, England with his wife Sandra. Now medically retired he worked for 35 years in the shoe business. He has been a semi-professional musician and singer performing mainly traditional / contemporary folk songs for over 38 years as part of the duo (and sometimes trio) 'The Marrowbones'.
His musical interest started at the age of 14 with Rock 'n' Roll and by the time his seventeenth birthday came along he was already playing rock 'n' roll and R&B in and around the local dance venues and clubs such as the Cavern in Liverpool.
Thankfully he was saved from the evils of rock 'n' roll when he discovered real music and folk clubs. His collection of recordings houses over 3500 folk songs alone.
Other interests and hobbies include Computers and Amateur Radio (he has a class A G4 call sign)
His latest project is 'The Little Room Studio' dedicated to making 'live' recordings of folk artists and producing their work on to CD using a portable digital recording studio.
To date he has written and composed over 12 folk songs and co-wrote with Gordon Morris another 10 that have been recorded on CD. The song writing has continued and they have another 10 songs in the pipeline not yet recorded to CD.
Favourite music / bands at the moment are Steeleye Span, The Battlefield Band, Little Johnny England and Fairport Convention, (in that order), and much admires the work of Martin Carthy, Martin Simpson, Roy Bailey, Vin Garbutt, and Bob Fox, to name but a few!
You can visit the crummy Web site here and read about The Marrowbones and how to get your free songbook.
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