Nollaig Fado by Seamus Carmichael

A collection of traditional songs from Britain and Ireland, which documents life in the countryside from December into January. The first set of songs are hunting songs from South Armagh, told from the perspective of the prey. Then an American version of an old fox hunting song from the Scottish borders. There follow three carols, two from the English tradition and one of those rare Gaelic carols. In the next group are two more Wassail songs from England, and another wintry one from the Scottish borders. The Irish Yuletide tradition of hunting the wren is celebrated in the last batch of songs, and the arrival of January adds a cautionary tale of an unwed mother abandoned by her lover and family.

Seamus Carmichael is a traditional singer from County Derry, Northern Ireland. He sings songs in Irish and English and plays tin whistle and harmonica. His own songs, comic and serious, spring from the folk tradition. Seamus performs at festivals and Sessions in New York and Pennsylvania where he has lived since the 1980s