Sally Sti

This is the second recording by BIS of Sally Beamish’s music, and the four pieces it contains confirm utterly her high standing. Her work is thoughtfully lyrical, intense, individual, instinctively dramatic, in ways that remind me somewhat of Nicholas Mawmusic. Like him she has a particular gift for expressive harmony and timbre. The earliest piece here is No, I’m not afraid (1989), six poignant poems written from prison by Irina Ratushinskaya spoken – by Beamish herself – against sparse but hugely effective instrumental backgrounds and interspersed with five purely instrumental interludes. The disc opens with The Caledonian Road of 1997. The name of this piece refers not just to the north London thoroughfare remembered by Beamish from childhood but to her own pilgrimage northward to Scotland, where she now lives. The music resonates with a sense of ritual, of something inevitable. By contrast, the work that follows, the unabashedly poetic The Day Dawn (written for a summer school organised by Contemporary Music-making for Amateurs in 1997, and revised in 2000) derives from a Shetland fiddle tune, and is all about new beginnings.

The sister of the Tubular Bells composer Mike Oldfield, Sally Oldfield had contributed to many of her brother's recordings before releasing her solo debut in 1978. Celebration (1980) is her 3rd studio album.
An euphoric collection of songs from Sally Oldfield, the soprano voiced, new-age trailblazer, and she even plays many of the instruments herself. Masterfully produced by Tom Newman, who also worked on Sally's cult-classic Waterbearer record, here is an exquisitely detailed tapestry of sounds. To start, a spell is cast with the steadily rising incantations of Mandala. This rhythmic style returns with Blue Water, which soon takes flight for a progressive folk epic - eight minutes of swirling bliss, a tribal pulse made for dancing ( love those conga drums ) and virtuoso vocals. Meanwhile, Woman of the Night is slow-tempo, aural seduction. A timeless album from Sally Oldfield.