Love Is The Cause – Baroque Guitar and Viol

Music from Scotland 1650-1720

The Early American Parlor Banjo
Rob MacKillop, gut-strung banjo

RECITAL: The Art Of The Banjo 1910 – 1930
– Rob MacKillop, Steel-Strung 4- and 5-string banjos

CD Recordings

The Healing ~ Rob MacKillop ~ solo recording of lutes, 17th-century diatonic cittern and oud (Greentrax CDTRAX 227)
Includes the beautiful Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of his 2nd Wife and selections from the following lute and cittern manuscripts: Balcarres, Rowallan, Robert Edwards, Skene. The last few tracks are contemporary pieces by Rob MacKillop, James Robertson and Matt Seattle.

REVIEWS

“Album of the Month…simply one of the best albums that I have now racked into my personal collection…musicianship of the very highest calibre” Celtic World

“A fascinating album; for lovers of good tunes, music and instrument historians, dancers or dreamers. Tunes for the lute and cittern from the 17th to 21st Centuries. Elegant, sophisticated, brilliant.” Guitar Player

“Amateurs de Renbourn…ceci est pour vous” Trad Mag (France)

“On this performance, as with so many others, MacKillop’s technical mastery fades into insignificance beside the intensity and quiet power of his music” Penguin Songs (Canada)

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Flowers of the Forest ~ Rob MacKillop ~ solo recording of lutes, citterns, mandour and 18th-century ‘guittar’ (Greentrax CDTRAX 155)

This recording reached the Number One position in both the Classical and Traditional charts in Scotland – an unprecidented event! It is fitting, though, as much of this beautiful repertoire falls between the two camps. Includes earliest version of ‘Flowers of the Forest’ and the earliest Scottish cittern music.

REVIEWS

“Record Of The Week – 5 stars – unique and utterly beguiling…not an iota of antiquarian foostiness here…There are no accompaniments, no multi-tracking, yet the interest is consistently held, not just by MacKillop’s virtuosic yet warm playing (peerlessly recorded) but by the variety of moods and timbres” The Scotsman

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James Oswald ~ Twelve Divertimentis for the Guittar (1759)
~ Rob MacKillop ~ (ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU 221)
Solo recording of Oswald’s highly entertaining pieces for the 18th-century wire-strung ‘guittar’ (otherwise known today as the English Guitar). A must for fans of Carolan!

REVIEWS

“Oswald’s music is a mixture of ‘style galant’ and folk tunes, and is similar in many ways to the music of his near contemporary, Irish harpist Turlough O’Carolan. MacKillop’s playing shows a genuine feel for the music, and his liner notes show extensive research into the instrument and its music” Acoustic Guitar

“Rob MacKillop’s highly informative programme note and his technically superlative and musically sensitive playing shine a bright light on the hitherto obscure art of guittar playing” Early Music Review

“Here is a rarity indeed! The pieces just jump out of the CD player at you, with their lively melodies and resonant harmonies. Moreover, they are in such an apparent constant state of flux that one is never sure where they are going next, and the end result often surprises and delights. Gorgeously played, recorded and package, this CD is a real find.” Classical Guitar

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Also available (for further information, click on record label name). All discs are available from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

The Songs of Alexander Montgomerie, Poet to James VI of Scotland (ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU249)

Plucked Instruments in the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments (EUCHMICD 101)

Graysteil ~ Music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance Scotland (Dorian Discoveries DIS 80141)

Notes of Noy ~ Notes of Joy – The Rowallan Consort – Early Scottish Music for Lute, Clarsach and Voice (Temple Records COMD 2058)