Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Adaption doesn’t always come with understanding of the original text; indeed, in many cases the sense of history and time is lost because the adapter has made it to personal, they have come into the project and captured the self-worth rather than the voice of that in which they intend to honour.

To truly frame the period as well as the subject, you must give yourself over in mind and spirit to the existence of all that surrounded the person as they not only left clues about themselves in their work, but in the observations of others, the once held diaries of those who witnessed your work and now hold the secrets to be unveiled for the world to remember your own obsession.

Such an undertaking is presented by Alison McMorland with Jo Miller and Kirsty Potts in the often dramatic pin point reconstruction of the important Scottish ballad collector’s works in Some Ballads Of Anna Gordon – Mrs Brown Of Falkland, and as the strength of the endeavour is one of passion and immersion, and whilst for obvious reasons some of Anna Gordon’s more immodest by today’s standards ballads are missing from the double cd, those that are placed before the listener though captivate and reason with dynamic resonance as the three women delight in the opportunity to be alongside such an historical figure.

The 12-track cd includes such highlights as Kempion, The Cruel Sister, The Gay Goss Hawk, The Bacon of Braikly, and Thomas Rymer & Queen Of Elfland, are wonderful examples of recreation in progress and ones that do absolute justice to the release of Ruth Parry’s biography The Ballad World Of Anna Gordon -Mrs Brown Of Falkland.

What might be considered ancient by some is in fact just a stepping stone to further enlightenment of social history, of the absorption of detail that creates the bridge between periods of time in our history, and Alison McMorland, Jo Miller, and Kirsty Potts, the unveiling of such a figure for the greater understanding of the audience is to be applauded fully.
Some Ballads Of Anna Gordon – Mrs Brown Of Falkland is a historical record made clear in the present day, and respectfully insightful.

Ian D. Hall