Hold Fast
Hold Fast is the motto of Clan MacLeod, and indeed it applies to this marvelous CD from one of the premier Glengarry fiddlers to emerge form the Ottawa valley in a generation. Ashley MacLeod, from Dalkeith, is so true to her roots, standing fast on the music of her ancestors and preserving it for those to come. Her feeling and emotion for strathspeys and reels amongst other selections is stirring to say the least. On this album she has been joined by several of Canada's top Celtic musicians - Troy MacGillivray, Bobby Lalonde, and Rob Menzies.
It was Rob Menzies, ex Triumph Street piper from Vancouver, good friend and musician in the original Spirit of the West that brought Ashley to my attention. She accompanied him on tracks for a recent Simon Fraser University CD....
Rob Menzies and Ashley MacLeod at a SFU recording session
Ashley's command of the music will set your foot a-tapping....her phrasing, tempos and technique is so good that I have started to use her recordings as lessons for many of my piping students. Enjoy this CD and please purchase it....support of our traditional artists is a must if we are to see more of this in the future.
Visit Ashley at www.ashleymacleod.com
Listen to the following tracks from Ashley's CD, Hold Fast:
1. Farewell to Erin, The Ale is Dear, Paddy's Trip to Scotland
3. Cutting Bracken, Strathspey and Reel, Alick C. MacGregor, The High Drive
