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All Music Guide:
June Tabor is probably the finest female traditional British folksinger of the late 20th and early 21st centuries -- if not the best British folksinger of her time, period. What links her to Britain's past traditions is the chilling and emotional qualities of her voice. What links her to the British present is her fine taste in material, arrangements, and backing musicians, along with a willingness to try different things and interpret work by contemporary songwriters.
Tabor's first high-profile project was a duet album with Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior in the 1970s (the duo dubbed themselves the Silly Sisters for the occasion). An all-star cast of some of the leading lights of the British folk scene supported the singers, including Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, and Andy Irvine. For her own albums and tours she has worked with outstanding guitarists, most notably Jones and Martin Simpson. She's also trodden into folk-rock waters with Fairport Convention (with whom she's guested on-stage) and Oysterband (with whom she collaborated on a 1990 album).
Her 1994 album Against the Streams found her still at her peak, interpreting both traditional tunes and efforts by modern-day composers, including Elvis Costello and Richard Thompson. Subsequent efforts include Singing the Storm (1996), Aleyn (1997), Quiet Eye (2000), Rosa Mundi (2001), Echo of Hooves (2003), At the Wood's Heart (2005), and Apples (2007). In 2011 Tabor released Ashore, a conceptual seafaring album that included a cover of Elvis Costello's "Shipbuilding" as well as reworkings of two of her more memorable songs, "Finisterre" and "The Grey Funnel Line."
Wikipedia:
Savourna Stevenson (born 1961) is a Scottish clàrsach player and composer. While she is identified as an interpreter of Scottish traditional music, she has also made inroads into world music, blues and jazz.
Her father is the Scottish composer Ronald Stevenson. Actress Gerda Stevenson is her sister. Anna-Wendy Stevenson, the Scottish fiddle player, is her niece.
Her musical career began in the late 1970s; at the age of 15, she was already playing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with folk artists such as Fairport Convention, Ralph McTell and Martin Carthy. Subsequent work involved her collaborating with Dave Swarbrick, Aly Bain and Davy Spillane.
She started to receive commissions for new music for theatre, dance and concerts. She first came to national attention with the 1989 album Tweed Journey, which describes a journey down the River Tweed – separating Scotland from England – from its source to its mouth at Berwick-upon-Tweed. This album saw her experiment with the harp in an electric setting with rock and jazz musicians.
Later work saw her collaborate with the Bhundu Boys and Toumani Diabate and participate in Womad festivals around the world. As a songwriter she has worked with writers such as Michael Marra and singers such as June Tabor and Eddi Reader.
Her Harp String Quartet featured in the American TV series Sex and the City, while her orchestral work Misterstourworm and the Kelpie’s Gift was performed for the first time by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2003. She was then commissioned by Children’s Classic Concerts to write a new work for children. The result, Hansel and Gretel, was premiered and toured across Scotland during 2005.
Her most recent album, Persian Knight Celtic Dawn (2006), is a mix of Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. It features song settings from The Prophet by Khalil Gibran and lyrics by the Gaelic poet Aonghas MacNeacail.
The release of Hansel & Gretel on Circular Records has been announced for January 2009.
