Named after the powerful final letter Mary, Queen of Scots wrote to the King of France, her brother-in-law Henri III, hours before her execution, and which she signed “This Wednesday, two hours after midnight”, this wonderful duet album from Scottish vocalist Louise Dodds and Azerbaijan-born pianist Elchin Shirinov presents eight beautifully- reimagined traditional Scottish folk songs. Dodds, a Best Vocalist nominee at the Scottish Jazz Awards 2022 and Shirinov, a member of bassist Avishai Cohen’s trio from 2018-2022, dig deep into their chosen repertoire, with Shirinov’s inventive reharmonisations casting new light on songs ranging from ‘Comin Thro The Rye’ (the inspiration, incidentally, for the title of JD Salinger’s classic 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye) to Robert Burn's best-known song, ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

Gently propelled by Shirinov’s hypnotically repeating left-hand ostinato, the duo’s take on the ‘Loch Tay Boat Song’ (“She's my beauteous nighean ruadh, She's my joy and sorrow too”) mark it out as one of the great songs of unrequited love. Also known as the ‘The Banks O' Doon’, Dodds casts a spell with ‘Ye Banks and Braes’, a Burns song of seduction and abandonment which features Shirinov’s limpid accompaniment and a final, unresolved chord which is left hanging in the air like a question mark. Other highlights include a poignant and tender setting of Charles Gray's ‘Oh True Love is a Bonnie Flower’, plus a gorgeous reading of Lady Carolina Nairne’s ‘Lass o' Gowrie’.