Album of the Week – Mairearad Green and Rachel Newton ‘Anna Bhàn’

Written by celtic music radio on October 12, 2024

Mairearad Green and Rachel Newton are both well established and celebrated Scottish musicians – they are also cousins.

This the first piece of music they have made as a duo, despite having played music together both informally and professionally over the years as part of various groups and projects.

They have come together to celebrate and remember their Great-Great-Grandmother Anna Bhàn’s involvement in the successful women-led Coigach resistance of 1852/53 during the Highland Clearances.

Inspired by recent community plans to build a sculpture in honour of these women in the area, Mairearad and Rachel composed a body of work together in Coigach last year for the album, produced by Andy Bell.

With songs in both Gaelic and English and featuring pipes, accordion, harp, piano and viola, Mairearad and Rachel’s award-winning compositional styles merge to create something truly unique and personal.

The music, reflecting their response to the events of the past and their relationship with the place and the people of Coigach in the present day, features on our ALBUM OF THE WEEK SHOW at midday today, presented by Liz Clark, aka Auntie Liz.