Norah Rendell
Spinning Yarns
★★★★ (out of 5)
IT IS amazing how many of the current crop of folk and traditional musicians and singers have connections to the University of Limerick.
Vancouver-born singer/flute/ whistle player Norah Rendell has a Masters in Irish Traditional Music Performance from the University having spent two years there.
She has given lectures and workshops at University College Cork and Limerick and has taught numerous workshops in Irish song, flute and whistle at festivals throughout North America and Europe.
For the past 15 years, Norah has toured internationally with several ensembles and is no stranger to this column as she was lead singer with the award-winning Outside Track.
For the past five years she has been building quite a reputation as a solo singer and was nominated for Best Traditional Singer of the Year by the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2009.
She was also named Best Vocalist of the Year by the Live Ireland Awards in 2011 and 2012. Now based in Minnesota where she is the Executive Director of the Centre for Irish Music she has a new solo album, Spinning Yarns, due for release this month.
The 12 tracks are a collection of traditional songs featuring material learned and collected from Canadian singers of Irish, Scottish and English descent.
Norah Rendell is a Canadian who has immersed herself in Celtic music and song.
Spinning Yarns is a lovely album, a fine collection of traditional songs played and sung with real style sincerity and an obvious love for the material by a very talented woman with the help a few well-chosen friends who share her enthusiasm.
Distributed in the UK by Proper/Copperplate, its official release date is April 13.
Watch Norah Rendell sing live here:
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