Mary Black orchestrated

Mary Black has long been one of the finest interpreters of contemporary song on this island. Indeed her past catalogue is a delightful mix of styles and writers that has garnered huge accolades and a worldwide fan base.  Her new album, sees her take some fan favorites, and some deeper cuts from her 14 studio albums, and using the original vocal, have additional orchestration added to them. 

The result is an unmitigated treat for the ear. 

When I originally heard the idea for this work, I was concerned. The songs are already damn near perfect, so why meddle with them?  Well, when the ‘meddler’ is Brian Byrne, a world-renowned composer and musician in his right, and the orchestra in question is the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, there was never a reason to worry.  

The album is a sumptuous sonic wash of delight. The gloriously, infectious bounce of ‘Carolina Rua’ is enhanced, not hindered, by the beautiful strings. ‘The Summer sent You’, simply soars, and Mary’s glorious lilting voice glides on top of the ascending brass, in a delightfully refreshing manner.  The deep longing and pathos of Richard Thompson’s peerless ‘The Dimming of the Day’ remains that totem of aural beauty it has always been in Mary’s hands. 

The ‘big’ songs in the repertoire are all enhanced delightfully, but it is the lesser-known songs in this record that are a real eye-opener. 

‘Poison Words’, the last track on her 1993 ‘Holy Ground’ album, takes on a cinematic, widescreen quality in its tale of good love gone horribly wrong. There is a timeless elegiac quality to this deeply affecting tale of heartbreak.