The Complete Songs of Robert Burns - Linn Records Boxed Set of all 12 Volumes (12CD)
Robert Burns gained more fame after his death than he ever did during his lifetime. His songs and poems have become international favourites.
This the the Complete Robert Burns Collection from Linn Records – 12 CD volumes in an attractive presentation box set. This marvellous collection has been attractively re-packaged for 2007 in a lightweight case, with updated artwork and a fresh new feel.
Featuring all the major contemporary Burns singers, with instrumental accompaniment. Singers include Jim Reid, Billy Ross, Rod Paterson, Janet Russell, Ian F Benzie and Tony Cuffe, and other artists include members of Battlefield Band, The Cast, The Corries, Deaf Shepherd, MacAlias, Malinky, Old Blind Dogs and many more.
Originally released early in 2003, the groundbreaking series took seven years to complete and involved over 80 singers and instrumentalists. It remains the definitive collection of Robert Burns’s song and the timeless poetry of Burns is brought vividly to life in this unique archive.
Encompassing love songs and bawdy songs (note the explicit lyrics warning on volume 11), patriotic and political anthems as well as songs about Scottish places and people, this collection of songs touches on all aspects of human nature and is a true representation of a vigorous folk tradition past and present.
Dr Fred Freeman, the series producer for The Complete Songs of Robert Burns, is an Honorary Fellow of the Department of English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests include the vernacular revival, ethnic minority writers in Scotland and, of course, song – specifically as a form in the 18th-century, with reference to Allan Ramsay, Robert Tannahill, James Hogg, Sir Walter Scott, contemporary Scottish songwriters, and Burns.
This sound grounding in the music and writing of the time has made him the ideal producer for the project, using his academic research and knowledge of contemporary performance practice to create the ideal balance between the necessary scholarly approach and the equally important feel of authenticity in performance that the series boasts.
He insisted on a recording process using very few takes, in order to preserve the feeling of live music in the recording. He also provided much of the recitation and musical arrangement.
“I have intended the series to be a tribute both to Burns the song-writer and to the contemporary Scottish folk movement: in many respects, the most dynamic folk movement in Europe.” (Dr Fred Freeman)
“I believe that history will speak of the Linn Recordings in the same breath as the Kilmarnock Edition.” (Living Tradition)
“Linn Records’ efforts to record all of the National Bard’s songs is breathtaking in its ambition and culturally laudable” (Inverness Courier)
“A remarkable and monumental achievement, comparable – in traditional music terms – to the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling or the King James VI translation of the Bible. A copy of this should be in every school and library in the land.” (Sunday Herald)
“Hauntingly authentic performances.” (BBC Music Magazine)
“Poured forth in melody as clear and true as a Highland stream.” (Daily Mail)
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