Perthshire Amber

Dougie MacLean is not only Scotland's favorite singer-songwriter--his song "Caledonia" is so popular it's considered the unofficial Scottish national anthem--he is also a talented composer of instrumental music as well. Perthshire Amber, a four-movement suite composed to honor his native county, is his most ambitious, and successful, composition yet. MacLean and his arranger and cellist Kevin McCrae have created a beautifully evocative piece of music that effectively blends the timbres of folk instruments like the tin whistle, guitar, bouzouki, and bagpipes with a small classical string ensemble. MacLean may be the leader of the group, but it's fiddler Pete Clark and tin whistler-piper Graham Mulholland who bring the music to life with their sensitive playing. The CD also includes three instrumentals taken from previous releases and a video of the recording session and scenic views of Perthshire, viewable on computers that can play CD-ROMs. --Michael Simmons