The Willow Collection

Albums do not usually come as beautifully conceived and packaged as The Willow Collection from young Nova Scotian sisters Cassie (fiddle) and Maggie (guitar and lead vocals) MacDonald. The idea, to pull together a set of tunes centred around the theme of the willow tree, is simple enough. But the pair have arranged the collection to look beyond the traditional folk imagery of the weeping willow and juxtaposed its associations of sorrow and death with symbols of soul and hope. The poise of final track, ‘Turn Me Gentle When I’m Dying’, is heartbreaking. There is musical breadth here too, with Celtic sounds from both sides of the Atlantic, and from Gaelic song to country tunes. A couple of instrumental sets add a touch of instrumental swagger; Cassie's fiddle drives hard on ‘Strip the Willow’. But it is the songs that delight the most. The sisters’ own ‘The Willow Lullaby’ is touching in its warmth of spirit, although there is more energy and spirit in songs of misery: the lively ‘Nobleman's Wedding’ and downright macabre ‘Down in the Willow Garden’. Taken all together, The Willow Collection is a virtuoso performance with a light touch.