Edinburgh International Harp Festival

Seavaigers – glowing reviews

MichelleK — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:42:55 +0000

The premiere performance of Sally Beamish’s new work Seavaigers has received glowing reviews in the press this week. Here’s a snippet or two…

Seavaigers was commissioned by the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and Celtic Connections with support from Creative Scotland. It’s second performance will be at the Harp Festival on 3 April. Sally will also share insights on her inspiration to write Seavaigers at an informal workshop that morning.

By Sue Wilson
Published in the Scotsman on Tuesday 24 January 2012

The first half of this intriguingly contrasted programme, broadly linked by northerly association, featured the world premiere performance of Sally Beamish’s Seavaigers, a three-movement concerto for string orchestra collaboratively composed with its soloists,

Shetland fiddler Chris Stout and Dundee-born harpist Catriona McKay, and bearing the old Scottish name for North Sea voyagers.

With the dozen members of the Scottish Ensemble, directed by Jonathan Morton, closely clustered around this central pairing , the music delivered a thrilling succession of vivid, overlapping sonic impressions: choppy waters, shipboard bustle, the play of sun and clouds on white-capped waves; moonlit calm, wraiths of sea-mist, the sirens’ call and the song of the whale. Undercurrents of jazz, swing, funk and gypsy influence were discernible, as the piece steered its course between traditional Scottish waters and more turbulent contemporary horizons, at one point cheekily echoing the Jaws theme tune.

By Kate Molleson
Published in the Herald on Tuesday 24 January 2012

The main event here was the premiere of a new work written by Sally Beamish for the combined forces of fiddler Chris Stout, harpist Catriona McKay and the strings of the Scottish Ensemble.

The three-movement Seavaigers (Seafarers) takes inspiration from the stretch of water between Stout’s native Shetlands and McKay’s hometown of Dundee; as Stout put it, “sometimes stormy, sometimes calm”.

The piece is so utterly tailor-made it could never be played by anyone else. Beamish takes up the trademark Stout/McKay sound world – fierce muscularity, spare and sweet lyricism – and she leaves plenty of room for improvisation, too. The Scottish Ensemble, luxury backing band if ever there was one, mostly adds textural support and the odd passage of doubling on unison violins. It’s lovely stuff and superbly delivered, but Beamish only gently pushes the scope at her end – maybe she was reluctant to impose “classical” confines on two soloists who are both masterful composers in their own right.

The rest of the set was music from the duo’s 2010 album White Nights, sounding gorgeously lived-in and still totally fresh. Added string backing traded the album’s intimacy for a more expansive if heavier sound; even so, and despite too much amplified reverb on the clarsach and fiddle, the musical chemistry centre-stage was electrifying.

Song of the Oak and the Ivy

MichelleK — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:42:46 +0000

A special commission written in 2011 by Corrina Hewat to celebrate 80 years of The Clarsach Society and 30 years of the Edinburgh International Harp Festival will be performed once again in the lovely setting of the Strathclyde Suite in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as part of Celtic Connections on Monday, 23 January at 8:00pm

Corrina Hewat’s six-harp suite – featuring acoustic, electric and wire-strung harps – brilliantly encapsulates the diverse energies of the contemporary Scottish harp revival… so if you’re in the area, pop in, we’d love to see you there.

Patrick Ball

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:53:16 +0000

In the stylish opening concert of EIHF, hear the traditional and dramatic art of the storyteller in the hands of Patrick Ball, playing the ancient wire strung harp. Contrast this with the sheer exuberant trad. and contemporary sound of Rachel Hair and her trio-harp, guitar and double bass.

Patrick Ball presents “O’Carolan’s Farewell to Music”, a one person theatre piece which brings to stage the legendary life, turbulent times and captivating music of this most celebrated Irish artist.

Nominated Scottish Folk Band of the year at the 2011, MG Alba Trad Music Awards, Rachel Hair Trio joins us at EIHF to start a tour celebrating the release of their new album. In one of the few groups to have harp as lead instrument, Rachel Hair is joined by guitarist/singer Jenn Butterworth and acoustic bassist Euan Burton in an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary material, combining passion and energy with sheer joy and irresistible fun!

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Patrick Ball

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:40:34 +0000

Patrick Ball is one of the premier Celtic harp players in the world and a captivating spoken word artist. In playing the ancient, legendary brass-strung harp of Ireland with its crystalline, bell-like voice, and in performing marvellous tales of wit and enchantment, he not only brings new life to two cherished traditions, but blends them in concert to create “a richly theatrical and hauntingly beautiful performance.”

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Cormac De Barra

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:37:08 +0000

Cormac De Barra is the third generation of harpers in his family. He first studied Irish harp with his grandmother Róisín Ní Shé in Dublin and went on to study concert harp in the USA. Cormac has recorded numerous albums of traditional music including Barcó with his brothers Fionán and Éamonn, Tarraing Téad with fiddler Máire Breatnach and Voices and Harps with Moya Brennan. He has collaborated and toured with a wide range of artists including Hazel O’Connor, Dervish, Julie Feeney, Brian Kennedy and Clannad.

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Sally Beamish

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:35:00 +0000

After moving to Scotland in 1989, Sally Beamish’s career as a composer began to flourish. Her orchestral output is considerable, including two symphonies, and the concerto form is a continuing source of inspiration to her, with requests from many soloists of international standing. Sally often draws on Scottish inspiration in her work, and collaborates regularly with traditional musicians, contrasting their skills with the classical genre. Her new string quartet for the Elias Quartet, Reed Stanzas, received its premiere at the 2011 BBC Proms, and has recently toured the UK.

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Dimitri Boekhoorn

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:32:45 +0000

Dimitri Boekhoorn, musician and former teacher in Celtic studies, comes from the Netherlands and now lives in Brittany. He plays traditional Celtic and Early Music as well as his own compositions on harps, flutes, whistles and bagpipe. Dimitri is principally self-taught using the method of plucking the wire-strung and other harps with his nails like the medieval Gaelic harpers. These playing techniques create a rapid ornamented style. Dimitri performs as a soloist with up to seven different modern and early harps (hybrid celtic baroque harp, Romanesque harp, bray harp, medieval Clarsach, etc.). He has performed in many European countries.

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Alina Bzhezhinska

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:30:43 +0000

Alina is one of Scotland’s leading educators and performs. Originally from Poland/Ukraine, Alina studied at the F. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and The University of Arizona, USA. She has performed with many major European orchestras including the Young World Symphony Orchestra, the National Opera in Warsaw and Scottish Opera and is a member of the classical ensemble, Amadeus Duo and recently formed Burns Trio. Alina is a harp lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and leads the RCS Harp Quartet promoting modern harp music through collaborations with living composers.

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Murray Campbell

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:28:28 +0000

Murray Campbell was born and brought up in the Highlands of Scotland. He is now Senior Professorial Fellow in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, where he directs the Musical Acoustics Research Group. He has carried out research into the acoustics of both stringed and wind instruments, and is co-author of two textbooks and numerous articles in this field. He is also an enthusiastic musician, conducting the Linton Singers and directing the Edinburgh Renaissance Band and the Scottish Gabrieli Ensemble.

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Edmar Castaneda

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:25:18 +0000

Edmar Castaneda was born in Colombia and since his move to the United States of America in 1994, has quite literally taken New York and the world stage by storm with the sheer force of his virtuosic command of the harp. Edmar’s journey traces back to humble and altogether inspiring beginnings. The son of a musician and a mother who nurtured young Edmar’s obvious natural talents, he embraced the noble folkloric traditions of his native land. A highly giving individual, Edmar is committed to sharing his mastery with others and improving people’s lives through his music.

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