Reviews

Artist:Anna Tam
Album: Anchoress
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 15
Website: https://annatam.co.uk/

Anna Tam is a name that is , no doubt, familiar to FATEA readers , particularly as she was shortlisted as Instrumentalist Of The Year 2020 by FATEA for her work with Wilde Roses. She is also known for her work with Mediaeval Baebes .

"Anchoress" is Anna's debut solo album , which features her stunningly beautiful soprano voice and instrumental prowess on a variety of stringed instruments, namely nyckelharpa, cello, viola da gamba and hurdy gurdy . The album comprises 13 traditional songs from all corners of the British Isles , together with 2 original instrumentals.

Anna lives on a boat "near London" from which she presents a weekly You Tube series "Folk From The Boat". Anna says that she "gains inspiration from the woods and the river".

The album title is interesting because an anchoress was , historically, a woman who was walled into a cell to live a life of prayer and contemplation . The anchoress had no way to get out of her cell. Thus, the title of the album reflects on the past year of lockdown and self-isolation.

The album is very much a solo work , with Anna doing all of the singing and playing, apart from guest contributions on a couple of tracks.

At first glance , the tracklist contains a number of familiar, some might say , over-familiar songs such as "If I Were A Blackbird", "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" and "She Moved Through The Fair". However, one listen to the album will tell you that Anna has put her own early music stamp on these well-known songs , to such an extent that they feel fresh and re-invigorated.

Furthermore, Anna has also chosen alternative versions of familiar songs , so instead of "Scarborough Fair" we have "Whittingham Fair" and instead of "Wild Mountain Thyme" we have "Braes Of Balquhidder".

One of my favourite tracks is the delightful tongue-twister "Elsie Marley" , the wife that sells the barley , which was a popular song from Durham in the 18th century. Anna's dad Roy Chilton joins her on banjo.

Another delight is the gorgeous "Arrane Saveenagh" , which is sung partly in Manx Gaelic , which is something new to me . The purity of Anna's voice shines through as she accompanies herself on viola da gamba.

The loveliness continues into "If I Were A Blackbird" , a stunning vocal performance from Anna who captures perfectly the defiant mood of the "poor maiden" who has been abandoned by her sailor lad.

Similarly, Anna deftly captures the ghostly atmosphere of "The Unquiet Grave" , where the deceased lover advises the young girl not to mourn him any longer and to make herself happy instead. Spine-tingling stuff.

Anna visits Ireland for " I Know My Love" and "She Moved Through The Fair" both of which come from Herbert Hughes' "Irish Country Songs" of 1909. Needless to say, Anna sings both songs beautifully.

Of particular relevance to the present time , with domestic violence unfortunately on the rise, is "Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk" a very sad story about a wife whose husband "batters me all black and blue".

The album closes with "The Goblet", an instrumental written by Anna on which she duets with fiddle player Geoffrey Irwin .

In conclusion, I would heartily recommend this superb album which clearly demonstrates Anna Tam's striking virtuosity , both as a singer and instrumentalist . These may be traditional folk songs but Anna takes them and gives them a twist that is unique to her. Not only that , but they sound absolutely gorgeous.

Peter Cowley

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