Lowlands
Susan McKeown not only has one of the finest voices in contemporary Irish music, she has wedded a profound understanding of the traditional songs of Ireland with an adventurous musical spirit. OnLowlands, her second collection of traditional songs, her connection with the roots of Celtic music is so deep that when she mixes instruments like thekora(African harp),erhu(Chinese fiddle), and tabla (Indian drum) with the less exotic violin, guitar, and tin whistle the results sound absolutely right. McKeown moved from her native Dublin to New York in 1990, an event that she says paradoxically made her feel more Irish. Songs like "The Snows They Melt the Soonest," which features the fiddling ofJohnny Cunningham, and "The Lowlands of Holland," a lament about a lover's death at sea, are infused with the sense of loss and longing that haunt the emigrant in a new land. OnLowlandsSusan McKeown performs a rare feat of artistic alchemy by transforming sorrow into beauty.--Michael Simmons