Lovers of Scottish poets such as Jackie Kay and Liz Lockhead can put down the book and turn up the stereo as Gaelic singer and Mòd Gold Medalist, Joy Dunlop, and Twelfth Day, a dynamic fiddle and harp duo, have joined creative forces – putting poems written by Scottish women to music.

Exclusively using poems by female Scottish writers, the collection of songs, dubbed Fiere (a Scots word for companion or friend), is a collection of new songs by the trio who met via twitter, showcasing the creative output of Scottish women through fresh and innovative compositions.

The unique collaboration explores the the lives, loves and experiences of women in Scotland and will be released as an album, in March as part of a UK spring tour.

Drawing from a mixture of Gaelic, Scots and English texts, Fiere includes poetry from a wide range of esteemed writers such as Carol Ann Duffy and Morag Montgomery and also features a traditional Gaelic waulking song and a poem by Sheila McLeod commissioned especially for the project.

Joy Dunlop said: ‘This is the first time that these poems have been put to music but as soon as we read each one, they just cried out to be sung. There was something unique in each poem that caught our attention but they all had one thing in common, an ability to touch the reader and therefore, the listener. From a musical perspective, poems are perfect songs in the making due to the flow or rhythm of the language, in many cases it was as though the tune was already in them.”

One of the poets involved with the project is Meg Bateman who has written work in both Gaelic & English. She said: “Walter Pater wrote in 1873, “All art aspires towards the condition of music.” There are probably many poets who write because they can’t sing very well.

“A musical delivery is able to make more of the mood and dynamics than the spoken word ever could.  It was through Francis George Scott’s settings of Scottish poems that I came to internalise poems by MacDiarmid, William Soutar and Campbell Hay. It is an honour and a treat that our poems have been taken up and it will be an even greater honour if they slip unnoticed into the tradition to be sung for years to come.”

A prominent figure in the Scottish music and Gaelic scene, Joy Dunlop was nominated as ‘Gaelic Singer of the Year’ at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2010 and 2011. She also won the Fatea ‘Tradition Award’ in 2010 and her critically acclaimed solo album “Dùsgadh” (Awakening) won the ‘Roots Recording’ Award at the 2011 Scots New Music Awards.

Twelfth Day is at the forefront of innovative, modern British folk music.  With a fresh, open minded approach to song and tune writing, the duo create an entirely unique sound, interweaving masterful fiddle and harp playing with beautifully harmonised vocals in stylish and dynamic arrangements.

From opposite ends of Scotland, Orcadian Catriona Price (fiddle/vocals) and Peeblesshire Esther Swift (harp/vocals), knew of Joy through her pianist brother Andrew, who studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with the girls. Initially communicating through twitter, they recognised a shared passion for musical exploration and decided to work on a song together. This proved to be an exceptional meeting of creative minds, which generated the idea of producing more work together. Their enthusiasm for Scottish culture, in particular traditional music and literature soon evolved into the idea of a song circle based upon poetry created by Scottish female writers.

Masterminded solely by the trio, the project is completely self-funded and all of the ground work was undertaken by the musicians themselves, including approaching the writers.

Joy said: We knew which poets were on our wish list but that’s exactly what it was – a wish list. When we first contacted them we fully expected a lot of hard work and even some knock backs when it came to persuading these talented women to let us use their material and explaining what Fiere is all about.

“These writers are some the most acclaimed and respected in Scotland and their response was overwhelming. Every single writer that we approached gave us their permission and some are even hoping to come to see us perform on tour. “To be able to bring together a body of work that celebrates the experiences of Scottish women in a completely new and unique way has been a privilege.”

The trio will be touring the new material from March with six of ten venues confirmed to date including Glasgow, Orkney and Manchester.

Follow the link for a preview of one of the songs featured in Fiere:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6NxJFxBdQs

Tour Dates

23^rd March 2012 – St Andrew’s in the Square, Glasgow

24^th March 2012 – Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh

26^th March 2012 – Sandwick Hall, Sandwick, Orkney

27^th March 2012 – Hoy Kirk, Hoy, Orkney

29^th March 2012 – Eastgate Theatre, Peebles

31^st March 2012 – Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester

Source: Joy Dunlop & Twelfth Day