Today marks the Nonesuch Records release of Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle, which features highlights from three concerts in honor of the late Kate McGarrigle, the beloved singer and Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame member. After McGarrigle died of sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in 2010, her children—the acclaimed musicians Rufus and Martha Wainwright—and her sister and musical partner Anna McGarrigle led tribute concerts in London, Toronto, and New York. To pick up a copy of Sing Me the Songs, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include a download of the complete album at checkout.

Sing Me the Songs was released in the UK and Ireland yesterday and was met with great critical acclaim, earning a perfect five stars in the Financial Times and four stars in the Guardian, Metro, Sun, Independent on Sunday, Irish Times, and York Press. The Guardian's Robin Denselow sums it up in one word: "Glorious."

Metro's Arwa Haider writes: "Many of the highlights are heart-rending, but they’re also vivacious and wonderfully unfussy. Quebecois ballads, indie riffs and rousing family choruses. McGarrigle’s own ode to mortality, 'I Just Want to Make It Last,' provides a beautiful end-note." The Sun's Simon Cosyns says: "What better way to celebrate McGarrigle’s life in song than through her super-talented nearest and dearest. This double album, tear-stained yet joyful, captures the best moments from a series of tribute concerts."

The Irish Times calls it "A tribute with a difference ... a powerful exhibition of sustained catharsis and wonderful singing." The York Press describes it as "a stunning appreciation of a clearly much-loved and influential artist." The Independent on Sunday considers the repertoire to be "34 songs having plenty to say about the esteem Kate McGarrigle was held in."

The album also earns four stars from McGarrigle's hometown paper, the Montreal Gazette. McGarrigle's songwriting "reveals a glowing humanity," writes Gazette reviewer Mark LePage. "The performances are in the main a bracing reminder of a time when songwriterly craft seemed more lavish, multi-layered, meant to envelope and welcome, to reward repeated, unrushed listening." LePage concludes: "Centrally, there is now a new document of the radiant qualities of the sisters’ writing, and of the human effect ... Here’s a reminder of why anyone should care." Read the complete review at montrealgazette.com.

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Proceeds from the concerts featured on Sing Me the Songs provided seed money for the Kate McGarrigle Foundation—a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money in the fight against sarcoma and also to preserving her legacy through the arts. Net proceeds from the sale of the album also will be donated to the Foundation. The double-disc set was produced by Joe Boyd, who curated the concerts, and features performances by Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Anna McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Antony, Norah Jones, and Teddy Thompson, among others. 

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The New York concerts were filmed for a feature documentary entitled Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, directed by Lian Lunson (Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man) and produced by Lunson and Teddy Wainwright. Candid interviews with McGarrigle’s family and friends are paired with rousing performances of her music. Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You will be screened at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) tonight, followed by a Q&A with Rufus and Martha Wainwright and other cast members. It opens theatrically at Film Forum in Manhattan for an exclusive run starting tomorrow, June 26. 

Also this Wednesday, BAM presents a concert titled Kate’s Kids in its Howard Gilman Opera House. Rufus and Martha welcome a few very special guests, including Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris, and Mark Ronson for a benefit concert celebrating the rich career of their late mother. The concert will feature performances of McGarrigle’s deeply personal music, songs by Rufus and Martha, French songs, and more, paying tribute to McGarrigle while showcasing the musical legacy she helped to create. Proceeds from both events at BAM benefit the Kate McGarrigle Foundation.

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Raised in an artistic family in St. Sauveur, Quebec, Kate McGarrigle moved to New York in 1969 to pursue a singing career while her sister Anna studied art in Montreal. Both wrote many songs during this period, including Anna’s “Heart Like a Wheel,” which eventually appeared on their debut album (and was made famous by Linda Ronstadt in 1974), and Kate’s “The Work Song,” which Maria Muldaur recorded in 1973. It was another Muldaur recording of a McGarrigle song that first brought the sisters to the attention of then–Warner Bros. Records President Lenny Waronker and launched their recording career with Kate & Anna McGarrigle (1976). Ten more albums followed, including 1977’s Dancer with Bruised Knees, which Nonesuch reissued in a set with their debut album—and a disc of previously unreleased demos—titled Tell My Sister in 2011. Nonesuch also released The McGarrigle Christmas Hour in 2005.