Praise for "Ca' the Yowes", CD

The Scots Magazine

Ca' the Yowes features vocalist Sophie Ramsay and friends, plus a round dozen of what might be called classic folk songs from Scotland, mostly Burns but also Walter Scott, Lady Nairn and Adam Skirving, the last named's contribution being Johnny Cope, originally a triumphalist Jacobite satire, but long established as the Reveille of the ethically-Scottish elements of the British Army. This album is full of surprises, not least the waterfall effect in "Caller Herrin".

Though I confess a certain weaknss for encouraging CDs numbered with the artist's initials followed by 001, no kindness is needed here: this album is definitely a triumph for the Alyth singer and PhD student, ably assisted by Benoit Leseure (violin), Jerome Brajtman (guitar), Adrien Daoud (double bass) and Remi Delangle (clarinet). A particular delight is how she mixes elegant performance and impeccable diction with unaffected voice.

Praise for "By Yon Castle Wa'", Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2007

Three Weeks

Step into Sophie Ramsay's show from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh's rainy streets and time begins to stand still. Sophie magically transports the audience from a dark underground room to calming Scottish landscapes with her flawless singing of staggeringly beautiful traditional folk songs. Everything about the show is lovingly constructed in a charmingly simple manner. Sophie sits alone with an acoustic guitar, softly introducing each song with its historical context and composer's back-story. When she begins to sing, the audience is captivated by her amazing voice and the vivid imagery gushing from the stage. For a chance to escape the world for an hour, with a pure taste of traditional Scotland, this show cannot be faulted.

tw rating: 4/5

published: Aug-2007
[Wil Mossop]

Praise for "Comin' thro' the Rye" Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2006

The Scotsman

****

JAN FAIRLEY

A GIRL with a ponytail, a stool, a guitar and half an hour of songs may seem like short shrift, but if the girl happens to be Sophie Ramsay and the Scots songs those of Burns, Walter Scott and Lady Nairne, then it is a very special 30 minutes, compelling in its simplicity.

Ramsay's magic comes from original arrangements, her unassuming approach and fresh, girlish voice that pays no court to pop, rock, folk or classical.

Staying with tradition, she re-mints classics from Caller Herrin' to Bonnie Dundee, singing as if their poetic ink was not yet dry.

Little titbits of background - like knowing that 40 years to the day Burns parted from his lover, Nancy, she marked the day in her diary hoping they would 'meet in heaven' - makes Ae Fond Kiss extra poignant.

Unaffected and unadorned, Ramsay seems to be the reincarnation of one of the lasses Burns serenaded in Green Grow the Rushes, Oh: "The sweetest hours that e're I spent were spent among the lassies oh".

This is a pure taste of Scotland: beautiful person, beautiful songs, beautiful show.