Lovers of Scottish poetry from writers such as Jackie Kay and Liz Lochhead can look forward to getting a literary fix with a twist, in a town near them from Friday March 23^rd 2012 – Gaelic singer and Mòd Gold Medalist, Joy Dunlop, and Twelfth Day, a dynamic fiddle and harp duo, are launching their unique joint project, an album of Scottish poetry put 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, highlighting the creative output of Scottish women through fresh and innovative compositions.

The launch of the eleven-date tour, spanning the length and breadth of the UK – from Orkney to London, takes place at St Andrew’s in The Square in Glasgow, showcasing the unique collaboration which explores the lives, loves and experiences of women in Scotland.

Drawing from a mixture of Gaelic, Scots and English texts, Fiere, which is also being releases as an album, 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: “We are very excited to be performing these songs up and down the UK and especially in and around our home towns. This is the first time that most of 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.

“We are really looking forward to seeing what the reaction is from a live audience and we hope they think we’ve done the original works justice.”

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.

Tickets are available on the door at each venue (first come first served)

Tour Dates (Scotland)

23rd March 2012 – St Andrew’s in the Square, Glasgow. 7.30pm

24th March 2012 – Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh. 2pm

24th March 2012 – Eastgate Theatre, Peebles. 7.30pm

25th March 2012 – The Reel, Kirkwall, Orkney, 7.30pm

26th March 2012 – Sandwick Hall, Sandwick, Orkney. 7.30pm

27th March 2012 – Hoy Kirk, Hoy, Orkney. 7.30pm

28th March 2012 – Hootananny, Inverness. 7.30pm

29th March – Dunkeld – Little Dunkeld Kirk – 7:30pm

Follow the link for a preview of one of the songs featured in Fiere: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6NxJFxBdQs

Source: Joy Dunlop and Twelfth Night