Kenneth McKellar, the great lyric Scottish tenor at his peak
Kevin D'Arcy | 07/08/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Kenneth McKellar, who is still pleasant to listen to for his wit, artistry and excellent diction was at his peak in his Decca years. He was best known for his Scottish songs in a classical "John Mccormack Style" but he crossed over very successfully into popular music, light classics and operatic arias. He sang in Italian, German, French and Welsh as well as Scots and English. Until recently these recordings from 1955-1975 have been unavailable(when his voice was at its peak of power and charm). I hope this is just the beginning of the reissuing the great recordings of one of the great tenors that 20th century Britain has produced. Any lover of the art songs or the "big songs" of the Celtic Fringe will find a movable feast in the artistry of Kenneth McKellar the man known for many years as "Scotland's First tenor" ."
The Finest Celtic Tenor of the Last Half of the 20th Century
Kevin D'Arcy | USA | 04/15/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The great Irish tenor John McCormack died in 1945. Ten years later his worthy successor, Mr. Kenneth McKellar, made his initial commercial recordings. While McKellar's repertoire was not as wide or deep as McCormack's, he was the Irishman's equal in Irish and Scottish songs.
Happily, this new compilation contains many of those gems. His renditions of "Down By The Sally Gardens" and "She Moved Through The Fair" will likely never be matched. And the fine Highland and Hebridean songs at last receive the artistic and technical perfection they deserve.
McKellar was also a fine Handel tenor, at least on record. And two selections from his Handel Arias album of the early 60's are included here. While this compilation only scratches the surface of McKellar's art, it does give a fair representation of his career during his prime.
There is no current tenor who can take the now retired Kenneth McKellar's place in the entertainment world. I am hopeful that the Three Irish Tenors will rejuvinate the repertoire of McKellar and McCormack, but it will be very difficult for any bard to match the artistic refinement and vocal beauty of Scotland's finest tenor in his prime.
If you love beautiful "trained" singing and great songs, give this one a try. You will not be disappointed.
Decca, please bring on more!
Kevin D'Arcy, from the San Joaquin Valley of California (A bastion for McKellar fans)
"
SCOTLAND'S GREATEST TENOR.
paul59 | 11/30/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Scotland's answer to Mario Lanza (!) If not quite in the same league as Lanza, Kenneth McKellar is definitely Scotland's gift to the world - as far as male singers of Scots folk ballads are concerned! McKellar's voice is deeply lyrical: he flawlessly and beautifully projects emotions in his songs as he enunciates each syllable as clear as a bell. Among my favourite songs included in this super collection are: AN ERISKAY LOVE LILT, Robert Burns' perennial AE FOND KISS, MY AIN FOLK, the finely orchestrated ROAMIN' IN THE GLOAMIN' among many others. As a kid, I remember my parents playing an old LONDON record which included beautiful, spirited & inspired versions (the orchestra & arrangements were terrific) of THE COCKLE GATHERER (a lovely wee song sung completely in Gaelic), THE ROAD TO THE ISLES (my favourite) and SCOTLAND THE BRAVE."
Track Listings (50) - Disc #1