Heather Dale: Celtic Singer/Songwriter
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Meet My Favorite Indie Recording Artist
Heather Dale, alias Mistress Marian of Heatherdale to those in the SCA, is my all-time favorite singer and bard. She performs lyrical ballads drawing on medieval music and myth, particularly Arthurian and Celtic.
Some have compared her to Loreena McKinnett, but of course she has her own style, with an infectious joy in some of her songs that urges you to sing along.
She's an enchanting performer. Anyone who's ever seen Heather Dale in concert will not forget that smile.
Most of all, Heather is a kind and generous soul. She has encouraged, tutored and inspired independent musicians and amateur bards for many years.
This page is a heartfelt salute from a longtime fan. You've gotta hear this lady sing.
"Mordred's Lullaby" By Heather Dale
This song is creepy, but it's one of my favorites
What lullaby would Morgan le Fay sing? Here's Heather's haunting answer (fan-made video):
Purchase + Download Mp3: Mordred's Lullaby
by Heather Dale on HeatherDale.com
$1.00 with Credit Card/Paypal
Samples of Heather Dale Mp3s Amazon
From several of her popular albums
Here's some samples of Heather Dale music. More samples plus free lyrics to many of her songs are available on Heatherdale.com.
While most of Heather's music is available on Amazon, I suggest that you purchase mp3s and CDs from her own website. Heather's store has full albums (including latest releases), individual songs or "samplers" of songs from different albums organized around moods.
About Heather Dale
Bard, Dreamer, Free Spirit
I first met Heather Dale about fifteen years ago, when she already stood out as an exceptional performer and bard in our international medieval reenactment organization, the Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA bards from eastern Canada ("Ealdormere") are some of the best, and she was one of their leading lights.
Since then I've watched from afar as her magical voice and imagination have begun to captivate mainstream audiences as well. Her albums are on sale on Amazon and iTunes. She's toured in North America and Europe. My jaw dropped when I first ran across a YouTube video with a very familiar song ("Mordred's Lullaby") as its soundtrack, but I shouldn't have been surprised. (Please see Heather Dale's FAQ for her policy on fanvids; let's return her generosity by respecting her wishes.)
in addition to writing and performing her own songs, she's also a talented musician: those instruments you hear (bodhran, penny whistle, dulcimer, harp, and more) are played by Heather and her steadfast partner, Ben Deschamps.
Heather Dale is deeply committed to independent music. She maintains her own label, Amphisbaena Music, which has supported and published albums by several other singers, storytellers, bards and indie musicians.
She will always be Mistress Marian to me, that luminous smile shining in the torchlight, pulling us all into a rousing chorus of "Come and Be Welcome" and spreading so much joy as she encouraged us to sing and pursue our dreams. The picture above right doesn't do her justice, but it's one of the few times I brought a camera and stopped singing along just long enough to snap a photo (Pennsic 34, Aug '05).
Here's a better photo...
Heather Dale from Heatherdale.com
One More Fanvid: "Joan" by Heather Dale
Lovely fan-made video for a fantastic song (on Joan d'Arc)
Download + Purchase "Joan"
by Heather Dale on Heatherdale.com
$1.00 Paypal/Credit Card
Poll Time: Have You Heard of Heather Dale?
Heather Dale Christmas Album: "This Endris Night"
Lovely Music for the Season
Here is Heather's Christmas album.
Beautiful, traditional carols reach back to another era, one with Yule logs and Good King Wenceslaus and soaring hymns in European cathedrals. I think you'll be delighted by this collection. (My personal favorite: "Coventry Carol.")
Again, I suggest you purchase it on Heather's store as a CD or full album mp3 download. (You can also download individual songs).
Become a Fan of Heather Dale on Facebook!
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Ben Deschamps and Heather Dale
2009 Pegasus Award for Best Performers
Let's see. Heather's Wikipedia Article notes that "her recording The Hidden Path was nominated for a 2007 Aurora Award. She and Ben Deschamps won the 2009 Pegasus Award for Best Performer(s). In 2005 Heather received a double Pegasus nomination for her songwriting, and she won the 2010 Pegasus for Best Writer/Composer..."
....wait, you're still here? Silly person. Go to their website!
Heather's Upcoming Performances
If she's in your area, go!
My Guestbook
Sing out!
Note: this guestbook is just for this fan page. Head on over to Heatherdale.com to check out the latest news or leave fan mail where Heather will see it:
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damoiselle
Jan 21, 2012 @ 10:20 pm | delete
- LOVE her stuff.
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Flynn_the_Cat
Mar 24, 2011 @ 3:08 am | delete
- Hey GreekGeek :D Something that would be really helpful is some sort of guide to the songs - I came back to buy more of the samplers but I'm lost as to whether those are ALL the songs or if I need to buy the albums instead.
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Greekgeek
Mar 24, 2011 @ 11:52 am | delete
- That's a good idea. ALas, it would be one of those OCD jobs which is I bet why Ben hasn't done it: there really needs to be a spreadsheet showing which albums each song appears in!
But one thing may help. If you click on each "Sampler" it lists the 10 songs in that sampler. I didn't do a side-by-side comparison, but it looks like the Samplers really are that, just a few representative songs plucked from all the albums, which they overlap. The samplers are not all of the songs present on all the albums. One might call the samplers "best of" collections, save that they each focus on one theme.
I don't know if you like more instrumental, more vocal, more modern or more "SCA" (medieval folk) style. My favorite albums are The Road to Santiago with some lively clear -- and mischievous ! -- songs, Green Knight, which has a lively rendition of Hunting of the Wren and a number of medievalish ballads, and Trial of Lancelot which has Mordred's Lullabye and a whole mess of Arthurian stuff. These all tend to be the sort of songs you'd hear outdoors among singers and bards or minstrels at a Ren Faire with a few folks on penny whistles and dulcimers and bodhrans, rather than more ...how do I say it? modern productions with more sophisticated instruments and a bit of sound mixing.
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Flynn_the_Cat
Mar 24, 2011 @ 12:23 pm | delete
- I nearly did it myself, but I recognised in time that I was just avoiding my essay!
Well, of the songs so far, my favourites from the 'Power' sampler are Mordred's Lullaby, Joan, Maiden & the Selkie, Hero & The Greyhound ^_^ Haven't had a chance to listen to the others yet. Of course, what I like when I'm travelling around tends to be livelier than what I'll listen to at home ^_^
Argh. I had to download each folder 2-3 times before it stopped being corrupted...
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Heather Dale (www.HeatherDale.com)
Feb 16, 2011 @ 4:54 pm | delete
- I'm so honoured that you put this together! Thanks *so* much... all the best... cheers, Heather. :)
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by Greekgeek
Storyteller, former Latin teacher, student of mythology and the ancient world: I've worn many hats, but always I've dabbled in computers and the web.
Until...
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