Songs from the North Country

It was only a matter of time before Rosemary Standley and François Lazarevitch met, as both are deeply connected to folk and traditional music. The founder and leader of Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien thus proposed to the charismatic singer of the legendary rock band Moriarty – who has already recorded two albums for Alpha, Love I Obey (Alpha 538) and Schubert in Love (Alpha 418) – to record a program of English ballads together. “This repertoire perfectly suits Rosemary's style of singing and her vocal timbre; moreover, she brings her experience with folk music and song to the project. The old ballads collected by Child and Sharp at the end of the 19th century are among the classics of this genre.” Rosemary adds: “This repertoire is wonderful. The core of American folk music lies in these English, Scottish and Irish ballads – a genre that resonates with me very directly.” With a carefully selected instrumentation – baroque harp, viola da gamba, pandora, the Scottish frame drum bodhrán and, of course, the flutes and bagpipes that are particularly close to François Lazarevitch's heart – as well as a magnificent vocal and instrumental ensemble, Rosemary and François embark on a musical journey to the north. In doing so, they follow in the footsteps of Alfred Deller, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and Simon & Garfunkel, who were also captivated by these stories of sailors, fairs, tailors and mice, of murder, betrayal and revenge.