The Plum Tree and the Rose

The Plum Tree and the Rose is the third album by singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid. It is a collection of traditional centuries-old material and original songs.^[1]

The Plum Tree and the Rose
Studio album by Sarah McQuaid
Released	March 2012
Recorded	2012
Studio	Marguerite Studios, Dublin
Genre	Folk
Length	47 minutes
Label	Waterbug Records
Producer	Gerry O'Beirne
Sarah McQuaid chronology
I Won't Go Home 'Til Morning (2008) The Plum Tree and the Rose (2012)

Reception

Hot Press referred to the release as "an album that should feature on many end-of-year best-ofs."^[2] AllMusic's J. Poet commented about McQuaid's vocal on the album, stating it is "full of the tremulous emotion every parent feels".^[3]

Track listing

1. Lift You Up and Let You Fly (S.McQuaid) - 3:10
2. Hardwick’s Lofty Towers (S.McQuaid) - 3:43
3. Solid Air (J.Martyn) - 5:04
4. Kenilworth (S.McQuaid) - 3:03
5. In Derby Cathedral (S.McQuaid) - 5:03
6. The Sun Goes On Rising (Sarah McQuaid & Gerry O’Beirne)- 4:14
7. S’Anc Fuy Belha Ni Prezada (Cadenet, c. 1200, arr. Sarah McQuaid & Gerry O’Beirne) - 4:14
8. Can She Excuse My Wrongs (John Dowland, published in 1597 in The First Booke Of Songes, arr. S.McQuaid) - 4:25
9. New Oysters New(Thomas Ravenscroft, published in 1609 in Pammelia: Mvsicks Miscellanie, arr. S.McQuaid) - 1:00
10. So Much Rain (Sarah McQuaid & Gerry O’Beirne) - 4:10
11. What Are We Going to Do (Sarah McQuaid & Gerry O’Beirne) - 2:57
12. The Plum Tree and the Rose (S.McQuaid) - 4:29
13. In Gratitude I Sing (S.McQuaid) - 1:02

Personnel

• Sarah McQuaid: vocals [1-13], guitar [1-6, 9-13], shruti box [7]
• Gerry O’Beirne: tiple [1, 7], 12-string guitar [1, 5], guitar [2], vocals [13]
• Rod McVey: keyboards [1-2, 5-7, 10-11]
• Trevor Hutchinson: double bass [1-2, 4-6, 10-11]
• Bill Blackmore: flugelhorn [1], trumpet [3, 5]
• Rosie Shipley: fiddle [2]
• Máire Breatnach: fiddle [2, 4]
• Liam Bradley: percussion [4-6, 11]
• Noel Eccles: percussion [4, 7]
• Niamh Parsons, Tom Barry: vocals [9, 13]
• Frances Hutchinson, Emer Ní Bhrádaigh: vocals [13]

Production

• Produced by Gerry O'Beirne
• Engineered by Trevor Hutchinson
• Recorded and mixed at Marguerite Studios, Glasnevin, Dublin
• Mastered by Sander van der Heide at Polyhymnia International, Baarn, The Netherlands
• Design and original cover artwork by Mary Guinan
• Photography by Colm Henry

Technical

• McQuaid plays:
  • a 1965 Martin D-28 [5,10]
  • her custom-made guitar by Andy Manson [1-4, 6-13]
• Both guitars are fitted with Fishman Matrix pickups
• John Pearse strings
• DADGAD tuning