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Sparkling guitar instrumentals and velvet-tinged vocals, described by The Rough Guide To Irish Music as "warm as a turf fire and as rich as matured cognac ... an astonishing debut by a unique talent."

10 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Traditional Folk, FOLK: Modern Folk



Details:
Born in Madrid, Spain and raised in Chicago, singer/guitarist and songwriter Sarah McQuaid discovered Irish music while studying in France. Holding dual Irish and American citizenship, she has made her home in Ireland since 1994.

In the autumn of 1997, she recorded her debut solo album, When Two Lovers Meet, featuring traditional tunes and songs along with one original number. The album received a sizeable amount of airplay on Ireland’s two national radio stations, RTÉ 1 and 2, as well as on local radio in Dublin and elsewhere. It also drew highly favourable reviews: “Boy, hasn’t Sarah got a good voice – rich, deep, mature,” Irish Music Magazine enthused, while The Irish Times called her “an accomplished guitarist” and the album “a debut to note”; Hot Press cited “a warm, velvet-tinged voice and a distinctive acoustic guitar style which mark her out as a significant talent” and the Rough Guide To Irish Music wrote: “Sarah’s voice is both as warm as a turf fire and as rich as matured cognac.... An astonishing debut by a unique talent.”

As might be expected of one who has led such a peripatetic existence, Sarah developed a taste for the road early on: From the age of twelve she was embarking on ten-day tours of the US and Canada with the Chicago Children’s Choir. A year or two later she was already a prolific songwriter, entertaining her classmates at school assemblies. At eighteen she went to France for a year to study philosophy at the University of Strasbourg, where her performance at a local folk club drew a rave review in the Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, saluting the “superbe chanteuse d’outre-Atlantique qui fit passer comme une vibration émotionnelle dans une salle conquise” (superb singer from across the Atlantic who caused an emotional vibration to pass through a conquered hall)!

Having discovered Irish music and the DADGAD open tuning during her stint in France, Sarah went on to found the traditional band Carnloch upon her return to the USA. The band toured folk clubs, colleges and universities for several years, garnering more critical acclaim: “Sarah McQuaid’s voice is hypnotic,” gushed a concert reviewer in Dayton’s Guide To Musical Diversity, “and I found myself hanging on every word”; the newsletter of New Jersey’s Minstrel Show Coffeehouse spoke of her “wonderful voice and commanding presence on stage”. Carnloch released a self-produced CD, The Crooked Road, in 1993.

In 1994, Sarah moved to Ireland, where she became a weekly folk music columnist for the Evening Herald and a contributor to Hot Press magazine. She is also the author of a guitar tutor, The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book (Ossian Publications, Cork, December 1995): “This book and tape should be a godsend to aspiring traditional guitarists,” wrote The Irish Times.

When Two Lovers Meet follows the book up with sparkling guitar instrumentals alongside songs both accompanied and a cappella. Beautifully produced by Gerry O’Beirne, the recording features guest appearances from a number of traditional music luminaries – piper John McSherry, singer Niamh Parsons, bass player Trevor Hutchinson, cellist Kevin Murphy, fiddler Colm McCaughey, keyboard player Rod McVey, and of course O’Beirne himself. Don’t expect a big wash of sound, however. When Two Lovers Meet is above all a gentle album, spare and understated, with Sarah’s voice and guitar always to the fore.

Sarah has recently returned to performing after a long break from the music scene during which she married Feargal Shiels, had two children (Eli, born in 2003, and Lily Jane, born in 2005) and developed her writing career. She currently works as a magazine editor, while continuing to write regular reviews of folk/traditional/acoustic CDs for both the Evening Herald and Hot Press, and she’s slowly but surely working on a novel for which she’s received two Arts Council Bursaries in Literature. She hopes to finish it one of these days.

What The Critics Say ...

“Sarah’s voice is both as warm as a turf fire and as rich as matured cognac. Enhanced by Gerry O’Beirne’s sparse, but atmospheric production, ‘When A Man’s In Love’ (a nineteenth-century ‘night-visiting’ song learned from Seán Corcoran) becomes a sensuous spine-tingler, while her guitar playing throughout should be a lesson to anyone unconvinced of the instrument’s role in traditional music. An astonishing debut by a unique talent.”
— Geoff Wallis & Sue Wilson, The Rough Guide to Irish Music

“This is a thoughtful, skilful and occasionally sombre collection.... McQuaid is an accomplished guitarist whose rich style sits well with the intricacies of traditional music. She has done her homework in other areas as well, notably in her research and particularly in her vocal style. Producer Gerry O’Beirne, no slouch himself in the guitarist ranks, serves McQuaid well in her stated aim of giving the music room to breathe, while other guests like Niamh Parsons (for a fine female version of ‘The Parting Glass’), Trevor Hutchinson and John McSherry help make this a debut to note.”
— Joe Breen, The Irish Times

“People who are familiar with Sarah’s writing in Hot Press will know that she is both knowledgeable and passionate about folk and traditional music. Her intelligence is matched by a warm, velvet-tinged voice and a distinctive acoustic guitar style which mark her out as a significant talent.... Sparsely produced, generally with a minimum of instrumental adornment, the tunes live and breathe naturally, while the vocals – cloaked in just the right amount of reverb – complete the overall effect, which is wistful and melancholic.... An understated, well-crafted and assured collection.”
— Colm O’Hare, Hot Press

“Boy, hasn’t Sarah got a good voice – rich, deep, mature. Shown at its best on the jazz-influenced ‘Johnny Lad’, great movement between octaves and stylish use of breathing add a sexy dynamic. One for a romantic evening in, listen to it with a hot whiskey and a peat fire – heaven!”
— Andy Ryan, Irish Music Magazine

“A new name to me, but one to definitely follow in the future. A fabulous singer, reminiscent of June Tabor in her dark voice, but also a remarkably talented guitarist. Born in Spain and raised in America, she conveys Irish music with love, but also an objective eye that’s not above slowing down a reel to bring out its subtleties. Her version of ‘When A Man’s In Love’, with Gerry O’Beirne’s National offering an almost Indian feel, is nothing less than pure velvet, while her track with Niamh Parsons, ‘The Parting Glass’, is a showcase for two glorious voices.... All in all, this is quite a revelation, and even guest names like Trevor Hutchinson and John McSherry don’t divert the spotlight from McQuaid. One of the best Irish albums to travel down the pike in a long time.”
—https://www.tradebit.com

“Sean-nós star Iarla Ó Lionaird is credited profusely for his assistance, particularly on the track ‘Táim Cortha ó Bheith im’ Aonar im’ Luí’, which has verses sung both as gaeilge agus as bearla. It is from another Cuil Aodh native, Peadar Ó Riada, that this disc draws some inspiration, particularly in its spartan approach to the musical arrangements, with lots of quiet moments in which the music can live and breathe. For my money, this was a beautiful disc.”
— Feargal McKay,
https://www.tradebit.com

“When Two Lovers Meet is both sparse and withdrawn by effect, but it casts a quietly lingering spell.”
— John O’Regan, Folk Roots

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File Size: 44.1 MBytes