Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride – by Jennifer Wrigley

📷 Jenny by Amanda Jackson Photography
Kirkwall Harbour by Alan Guthrie Photography

NEW RELEASE ALBUM AND TUNEBOOK

As I sit here looking out across Orkney’s lush fertile fields, watching the birds flying effortlessly around the breaking sunlight I think about how lucky I am to be at home following many years travelling the world as a touring professional musician.

For over three decades, I performed as one half of the duo ‘The Wrigley Sisters’ with my twin, Hazel, recording over a dozen albums, undertaking three world tours, visiting 47 countries (including 15 trans-Atlantic trips) and appearing in countless television and radio productions. Together, we also ran Kirkwall’s iconic Reel – a music school, café/bar, music shop, concert venue and exhibition space – for 16 years until Covid forced its closure.


📷 The Reel, Kirkwall by Tom O’Brien Photography

Orkney, my creative centre, is located approximately 15 miles off the north coast of Scotland.  It is an archipelago of more than 70 islands and has, throughout history, been a cultural throughfare, especially for sea travellers; the recent discovery of the 5500-year-old Ness of Brodgar complex, used for ceremonies and rituals; the natural harbour of Scapa Flow, home to the Vikings and subsequently the British Grand Fleet during two world wars.  During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the nearby harbour town of Stromness, birthplace of influential twentieth century Orcadian poet, George Mackay Brown, served as the last port of call before the long trip across the Atlantic for seafarers including Captain James Cook and Sir John Franklin.  Now an integral part in the development of diverse and successful renewable energy sources, being home to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd – the world’s first and leading facility for demonstrating and testing wave and tidal energy converters, Orkney, with the sea and the wind, coupled with ancient history and roots is a beautiful place for artists, creativity, and worldwide cultural cross-stitching melodies.

I feel honoured and delighted to be asked by the Traditional Music Forum to share my latest musical adventure with you; the creation of my brand-new release ‘Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride’ album and music book.

It has been quite a journey, one that began three and half years ago.  I was extremely fortunate to be chosen in 2021 by music charity Sound and Music, London as one of six NEW VOICES artists selected out of over 400 UK wide applicants.  They offered support across 18 months for me to create a new compositional piece work.  I could compose whatever I wanted, and they would support me.  “Think big”, said my Creative Advisor Nicole – that is a dangerous thing to say to someone creatively minded.  I thought about going down the ‘Techno fiddle’ route but decided that writing something centred on fiddle music would be more for me!

My plan was to create a composition based on the traditional music of Orkney, highlighting the importance of the rhythm in the music not only in the playing styles but also in the local dialect and mannerisms of Orkney.

Sound and Music encouraged me to think about my inspirations and ultimately it involved exploring a brand-new medium, using local audio samples to inspire percussive ideas within the composition. There are stories of people dancing to anything in Orkney! I began looking for recordings of any ordinary Orkney sounds and voices e.g., cackling women, the auction mart, the buzz of the pre-concert audience, the bustle of the pier as the boat comes in, sport being played, children playing, gossips and laughing. Despite there being a large archive of this audio material in existence I really struggled to locate these sounds online. What I was looking for is seemingly difficult to find or has not yet been digitised. This got me thinking; could a special digital sound library, specific to a place and a time, created by artists be useful for others – I cannot be the first to search for these sounds?

📷 Jennifer Wrigley by Sean Purser Photography

The IDENTITY INSPIRATION MEMORIES AUDIO PLATFORM or iiMap, supported by an additional Sound and Music Dimensions Award, is a collaboration with photographer Keith Allardyce (RIP), Orkney Museums, National Library of Scotland, Orkney Library and Archives and Orkney Voices, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and many others. It aims to collect memories and ordinary familiar sounds specific to people and place, highlighting dialects and mannerisms that characterise roots and converting those creative influences into something digital that can be shared with others. You can learn more by visiting www.iiMap.co.uk

📷 iiMap photo of Children in Stromness by Keith Allardyce Photography


📷 Keith Allardyce by Keith Allardyce Photography

I think the traditional music of the fiddle (aka violin) is like your accent.  When you grow up sitting next to your forefathers and playing music there is a certain rhythm and manner in their voice.  Natives of Orkney tend to speak quite quietly and softly with their fun staccato accent bearing a recognisably Scandinavian style lilt.  Their fiddling style similarly uses a short, light, distinctive bowing technique which gives the music an understated simple lift and assured dance.  The focus being always on the simplicity of the melody which traditionally is what people danced to.  A traditional tune was one you could hum, was memorable and catchy and passed on aurally.  Perhaps less to do with the notes and more to do with the rhythmic voice and personality of the player, unique to different traditions of the world.

As I grew up being inspired by my musical pals, I too wanted to inspire others, irrespective of the cleanliness of the production and quality of the playing, making it real and rooted, to understand and appreciate the old voices and make them new again. These are stories without words.

As an artist I continue to strive to broaden my musical horizons, explore making music with new people whilst retaining Orkney’s real culture, the people, their generosity, their softly spoken stories, their sense of humour, their tunes, their pride, and self-sufficiency. This is something that cannot be learnt from a book or from the internet but only by connecting socially with older players and is something that I fear may be happening less and less in the modern world.  To me traditional music is all about rhythm, voices and having faith in the melody/words.  I feel so very lucky to have been steeped in the aural tradition from a young age.

In recent years traditional music has become more fashionable again, but often the focus is given to providing a groove under the melody which can be so overpowering that the melody is largely lost.  Traditionally, the actual tune and its dance intrinsically connected the listener to react to the rhythmic push and pull of the notes and not the groove underneath.  This is something I feel is incredibly important not to lose.  Providing a sympathetic accompaniment to these beautiful simple melodies is much harder than one might expect.

So, after 18 months of creativity and preparation the result was a live performance staged at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in March 2023.  Combining my Associate Artist role at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) with the New Voices award from Sound and Music.

Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride – my first solo venture – tells a progressive story based on a journey to Orkney.  I wanted the four movements to represent our modern-day struggle in life for material goods over and above a safe home/place for us all to live.  This simpler way of life, and the sense of community that traditional music encapsulates, has been the foundation of our race for thousands of years.  Current world affairs remind us daily how lucky we are to have the solidity of the land around us.

📷 Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride performers and crew. Taken at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Chandler Studio in March 2023. By Sean Purser Photography.

In addition to fourteen RCS music students, the live performance captured on the new album featured singer Alyth McCormack, multi-BBC award winning guitarist and accordionist Tim Edey, former BBC Folk on Two winner and past Riverdance band member, accordionist Luke Daniels, Scottish Borders pianist Harris Playfair, and Orcadian pianist Laurence Wilson.

📷 From left to right: Tim Edey, Eleanor Dunsdon, Calum MacKinnon, Gregor Black, Jessica Fraser, Luke Daniels, Jennifer Wrigley, Rachel Henderson and Kristina Leesik. Photo by Sean Purser Photography.

The performance also included internationally acclaimed championship dancer, teacher and choreographer, Jane Douglas, along with the Fèis Lochabair Scottish Step Dancers, who brought an exciting rhythmic and energetic element to the new composition. Third-year RCS student and lighting designer, Pippa Reilly, led the partnering tech team and brought her own special creative magic to the show.

📷 Fèis Lochabair Scottish Step Dancers by Sean Purser Photography

Firstly, we travel across the Gaelic speaking Highlands, strathspeys, mountains and on to the moorlands of Caithness with the air ‘’The Four Bridges Crossing’ (The Forth, Kessock, Cromarty and Dornoch Bridges) followed by the march ‘The Jellico Express’, (during the war Admiral Jellico’s train carried troops from the south of England to Orkney) a strathspey ‘The Berridale Crawl’ (a notorious cliff top climb on the A9) and reel ‘The Risky Picnic’ (a sandy soft escape bed designed for trucks looks like a nice place for a cuppa!) Finally, we ride ‘The Pentland Firth Swing’ (hold on, the boat across the Firth might get a bit rough) which highlights the swing jazz Harlem style piano and guitar playing which was famously carried to the Northern Isles via the short-wave radio in the 1920’s.  We journey through the powerful tidal waters of the notorious Pentland Firth which was once described in renewable energy terms as the ‘Saudi Arabia of the North’ and on past the ‘Merry Men of Mey’ tidal race.  As we round the Old Man of Hoy cliff stack, the two lighthouses of Hoy High and Hoy Low on the island of Graemsay will guide us safely into harbour.

📷 Harris Playfair by Sean Purser Photography

📷 From left to right: Rachel Henderson, Rory Carter, Kristina Leesik, Ruby Whitaker, Oisin McCann and Josiah Duhlstine. Photo by Sean Purser Photography.

The second movement ‘Reach for the Slip’ is composed for our arrival in Orkney, we survived the boat journey and are grateful for the solid ground in which to stand.  Greeted by welcoming islanders, helping hands are offered/reach out to help us climb ashore. We look around in relief and in awe at the beauty of this ancient new place with its green, lush, fertile, uninterrupted expanse of blue skies and sea. The piece highlights the melodic influence of the Norse fiddle style melodies.

📷 Tim Edey by Sean Purser Photography

📷 Alyth McCormack by Sean Purser Photography

The third track is a folk song encompassing the message of the whole piece and a bringing together of cultures based on respect, friendship and sharing.  ‘Beyond the Merry Men of Mey’ is a song that includes the pipe melody ‘Air for Arne’ which I composed for the late Orcadian piper Arne Flett who was full of stories and ‘March for Magnus’ for my son.  This cultural convergence is represented by the alignment of the two lighthouses “Hoy High and Hoy Low” and featured in the show a luminous bioluminescence phenomenon seen on the water known as Milky Seas or Mareel.  Even after dark when there is no power, the music and dancing will continue.

📷 Laurence Wilson by Sean Purser Photography

The final track celebrates the hall/dance.  The community, young and old come together to dance. The first tune in the set ‘The Laughing Barn Dance’ (you should hear laughter) highlights the influence in Orkney of the accordion music of William Hannah, from Blackburn, who was one of Jimmy Shand’s biggest influences.   It features a special old accordion, similar in design to William Hannah’s early 1920’s box, which went on to revolutionise the accordion in Scotland. Hannah and Shand had close connections with Orkney and Shand even lived in Orkney for a short time.  Featuring the driving and rhythmic traditional Orkney piano accompaniment this tune pays homage to the unique Orkney Barn Dances and showcased a special newly commissioned piece of choreography by Jane Douglas which in true Orkney style brings together dancing influences from all around the world. The second tune in the set celebrates the east coast Scottish fiddle influence of Scott Skinner; a Scottish champion fiddler, dancer and showman, well known for his virtuosic variations.  ‘The Midgie Minuet’ is an agitated high-brow dance usually performed when the ‘Midgees’ are biting!  Finally, everyone is brought together for a “dance and tune off” the reel ‘Tackity Boots’ (an Orcadian dancer whose metal stud boots caused sparks to fly on the flag floor).  Two specially made dancing ‘Limberjack Dolls’ represented Scott Skinner and Jimmy Shand.

📷 Alex Wotherspoon with the specially commissioned Limberjack dolls of Jimmy Shand and Noah Scott with Scott Skinner Scott. Photo by Sean Purser Photography.

The performance and ultimately the album is a hugely important project for me in so many ways. Not only is it my first solo venture, but it also comes at a time when the world is experiencing so much discord and conflict, with attitudes towards migration a particular concern to me. Orkney has, for thousands of years, been a place where folk have travelled to, and transitioned through, so I wanted to create a work that told the story of a hopeful journey, with a suite reflecting the welcoming and optimistic nature of our island’s community, and a simpler, kinder way of life.

📷 by Sean Purser Photography

I’m very grateful to everyone who contributed their talents, time and energy to make this project possible. I want to especially thank all the musicians who took part in the original performance in Glasgow and made it such an unforgettable event. I’m really excited to be sharing Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride with the world and I hope everyone enjoys travelling to Orkney with me!

An accompanying Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride music book, available to buy, has arrangements for fiddle, with harmonies, bowings, ornaments and chords, plus live photos from the RCS show.  Available to purchase now by mail order from my website and on all major streaming platforms.

ON SALE HERE

Anna Bhàn – by Rachel Newton & Mairearad Green

📷 by Somhairle MacDonald

Mairearad and I are cousins and grew up playing music together in informal settings as well as performing as part of Fèis Rois. Mairearad is from Achnahaird in the North West Highlands. I’m from Edinburgh and spent my school holidays up in Achnahaird at our Grandparents’, just up the road from Mairearad’s house. In fact, several of the houses in Achnahaird are inhabited by members of our family and it was always a lot of fun spending time with a big group of cousins growing up. The next generation of kids are around now and it’s nice to see them all heading off to the beach in a gang like we did when we were younger.

Achnahaird, a few miles from Achiltibuie, is part of a peninsula called Coigach, around 20 miles north west of Ullapool. I might be biased, but I think it’s one of the most scenic parts of Scotland, with a dramatic backdrop of mountains overlooking a long sandy beach. Our Grandfather was from Achnahaird and our Grandmother was from Polbain, just on the other side of the Coigach peninsula. They were native Gaelic speakers and their house was always a hub of activity. My mum Jessie was the eldest of 6 children, Mairearad’s mum Sheila being the second.

We’ve always known about the Coigach Resistance and that our family played some part in it, but it wasn’t until recently that we really looked into it. The Coigach Resistance was a series of events that took place in 1852/3 over a period of 18 months where local people managed to successfully resist the serving of summons to remove from their land. It was one of the few successful resistances during the Highland Clearances in the lead up to the Napier Commission and the Crofting Act of 1866. What really struck us about these events is that they were often led by women. Four young women in particular are named in various accounts and one of those women is our Great Great Grandmother Anna Bhàn.

Recently there have been plans by the organisation Coigach Heritage to commission a sculpture by Will Maclean RSA and Marian Leven RSA to commemorate those who led the resistance. The landmark monument is to be set on the hillside above Acheninver. Central standing stones will be encircled by walls sourced from local ruins with pathways and seating. Granite, slate and bronze highlight other elements of the story. Every stone will symbolise the women and men who made a stand against injustice. This really galvanised us to set about on our own path of commemorating and celebrating this story and our personal connection to it.

We spent a week last summer up in Achnahaird writing the music and doing research. We then went on to record the music at Gran’s House studio near Biggar with engineer and producer Andy Bell. Andy really helped us combine our individual styles and make something that we felt represented us both while at the same time creating a new sound.

Mairearad is also a visual artist and wherever possible, enjoys combining her two passions – art and music. Her impressionistic painting style is very much a visceral response to the land she grew up in and for this album, she created a unique series of ten mixed media artworks to accompany each track. The originals are available from her website and the artwork features in our C.D. and Vinyl booklet.

It was really special and very emotional to return to Coigach last week for our album launch show. We were very touched that so many turned out for the gig and showed us so much support. We’re currently having a great time on tour around Scotland bringing our music to live audiences and sharing the story of the Coigach Resistance.

annabhan.bandcamp.com/album/anna-bh-n

www.coigach-heritage.org/lorg-na-coigich

The MacIntosh Fiddlers of Inver: A Celebration of their Music, Songs and Stories – by Munro Gauld

James Macintosh (1846-1937)
Image: The Chapter House Museum Trust

Flute player and musical researcher Munro Gauld outlines his involvement in a community music project in the heart of Scotland.

Back in the spring of 2022 when rummaging around in the Dunkeld Community Archive, I came across a folder containing old handwritten music manuscripts, some printed song sheets and a wee booklet of tunes.  …… all written over 90 years ago by Dunkeld postie and fiddler, James Macintosh (1846-1837). It was the first glimpse into the lives of an extraordinary local family, leading me down a wonderfully rich rabbit-hole of music, stories and artifacts. And the creation of a collaborative community project which will culminate this September at the Birnam Arts Centre with a celebration of the MacIntosh family’s work and music through a new one-act play, concerts of their music, a book of their songs and tunes, and an exhibition.

Dunkeld, its Musical Heritage and the MacIntosh Fiddlers of Inver

Although Dunkeld is little more than a village, it has an incredibly rich musical heritage dating back to the mid-1700s when it was at the heart of Scotland’s “golden age” of fiddling. Inver, just over the river Tay, was the home of the famous fiddler, Niel Gow (1727-1807) and his musical sons William, Andrew, Nathaniel and John. But during the same period the area was also home to other notable musicians such as Malcolm MacDonald, “Red Rob” MacIntosh from Tulliemet and John Crerar, the Duke of Atholl’s head forester.

Into this picture comes the MacIntosh family of Inver. Their story begins in 1783 with the 22-year-old Charles MacIntosh arriving in Inver dressed as a woman! The Duke of Atholl was clearing Glen Tilt of its tenants to enable him to create a deer forest for shooting, and had reputedly allowed the East India Company army to press-gang the glen for its young men. Charles therefore fled in disguise making his way down river until he reached Inver where he leased a cottage next to Niel Gow’s house. Charles married a local girl and together they had eight children – four of whom became fiddlers including May, who is perhaps the first documented woman to play the fiddle. The eldest, James, was Niel Gow’s last pupil and showed such promise that Niel got his son Nathaniel to buy him a good quality fiddle in Edinburgh. After a short spell as a joiner, James moved to Edinburgh to join Nathaniel’s band and to become a professional fiddler, playing throughout Britain as part of “The Reel Players”. He played for King George IV when he visited Edinburgh in 1824 and was reported as having been a neat powerful player with several of his compositions being published by Joseph Lowe.

Lowe’s Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Jigs, Book 4 (1844–1845)

Another of Charles’s sons, confusingly also called Charles, stayed in Inver and firstly followed his father’s weaving profession before teaching and playing fiddle. In 1843 the publisher Robert Chambers (of Chambers dictionary fame) spent a week fishing and shooting in the area and wrote of how Charles provided entertainment with his fiddle:

‘‘Apropos of the high spirits of the party we had a regale of that lively music for which Athole is celebrated. My host had engaged the attendance of a clever violinist, Charles MacIntosh of Inver, and of Peter Murray, a worthy old violincellist from the same place, that reels and strathspeys might not be wanting to cheer himself and his people after the fatigues of the day. Favoured by these two performers, we had a rustic dance with these two performers upon the raft-like boat ….. where a party of villagers the locals gladly exhibited their skill in that ultra-merry salutation peculiar to grave Scotland. Such electric movements of hob-nailed feet, such frantic gesticulations and intertwistings, such wildly joyous exclamations!”

Charles MacIntosh (1797-1867)
Image: Perth Art Gallery and Museum

Charles composed some lovely tunes – including the slow strathspey, Dr Robertson’s and the wonderfully driving The Auld Boat o’ Logierait – a strathspey named after the very same ferry boat described by Robert Chambers.

Charles married and had 4 children – two of whom, Charlie and Jimmie, remained in Inver, becoming post-runners and part-time musicians. Although they had limited schooling, they both were highly intelligent with enquiring minds, being interested in natural sciences, astronomy, geology and Indian religions. Charlie lost the fingers of his left hand in a sawmill accident which ended his fiddle playing – but he taught himself to play the cello using only the stumps and he joined his father’s dance, playing throughout Perthshire. James had a similar love of traditional music and was to spend 70 years in his father’s, and then his own dance band. In 1930, aged 84, he published a small booklet of 15 of his own tunes. They are cracking tunes, are imbedded into the repertoires of local musicians, and have been recorded by the likes of Silly Wizard, Dougie MacLean and Phil Cunningham.

James Macintosh’s collection of his own compositions, published in 1930.
Image: The Chapter House Museum Trust

MacIntosh Manuscripts

I was therefore very excited to come across manuscripts in Dunkeld Community Archive with an additional twenty of James’s unpublished tunes. After some more digging in the Archive, in Perth Library and at Blair Castle, I found other manuscripts with 20 more tunes composed by James’s father and his uncle – half of which had never been published before. It seemed to me that these tunes were an important part of our local musical heritage and deserved to be played and heard!

I therefore started the process of transcribing the tunes – not always easy given the ink splodges, pencil marks and crossings out … they were definitely works in progress!

James Macintosh manuscript
Image: The Chapter House Museum Trust

I also began to research the family and their lives, considerably helped by two excellent books which provided a lot of detail that otherwise would have been lost: a 1920s biography of James’s brother Charles, the celebrated, amateur “Perthshire Naturalist” and friend of Beatrix Potter, and: Niel Gow’s Inver by local historian Helen Jackson. Along with snippets of information garnered from photographs, documents and letters in the Archive, a picture began to form of a family that was tightly woven into the social, religious and musical life of the community. Three generations of the family were precentors at Little Dunkeld Church, James was secretary of the Dunkeld Highland Games for 40 years, both James and Charles were converts to the Temperance movement and looked to encourage others to abstain through setting up a Templar Society, a flute band and a nature rambling club.

Although the family contributed so much to the area over a 200-year period, unfortunately they have been largely forgotten locally, with only a few people aware of the contribution that they made, the music that they wrote and played, or the fascinating stories of their lives. This project aims to change this through a community-wide celebration of the MacIntosh family, their lives and their work. It involves numerous local organisations and individuals, coming together in a diverse range of activities and events based at Birnam Arts Centre in September.

MacIntosh Play – “A Place fu o Fiddlers” – 28th and 29th September

The weekend of MacIntosh celebrations starts with the performance of a newly written one-act play by award-winning Perthshire playwright Lesley Wilson. This exciting and innovative play tells the Macintosh family story combining acting, live music and projected images, and spans the period from the 1780s right up to 1988 when Elizabeth, the last of the Inver MacIntosh family, passed away. With local semi-professional actors Bob Davidson and Anna Hepburn playing multiple parts, it promises to be poignant, humorous and foot-stompingly good fun. James’s fiddle will play its part, as will a First World War brass artillery shell case brought home by James Macintosh’s son Cameron whilst serving in the Machine Gun Corp at Ypres.

MacIntosh Concerts – 28th and 29th September

Immediately following the play (after a short intermission) there will be a concert where the tunes and songs composed and collected the MacIntosh family will be played. With their family being such an integral part of the community, and the Dunkeld area having so many talented musicians, it is important that the concert reflects this through the involvement local people and organisations, and tapping into local professional and amateur musicians.  First amongst these is the Dunkeld & District Strathspey and Reel Society, which was established in 1932 by James Macintosh and local school teacher Davina Begg. Ninety years later it is still going strong, ably led by local fiddle maestro Pete Clark. The Society carries Dunkeld’s fiddling tradition, and due to the MacIntosh family, has a direct and unbroken connection from today’s players right back to Niel Gow.

James Macintosh and Davina Begg, founders of Dunkeld & District Strathspey and Reel Society
Image: The Chapter House Museum Trust

The next obvious participant for the concerts is Dunkeld’s Just Singin’ Community Choir.  Charles and James Macintosh, as well as being instrumentalists, were both also hugely interested in folk song and singing. Throughout their lives they collected traditional airs and ballads, but they also composed new ones. After they retired from their jobs as post-runners, they would spend weeks at a time in the surrounding villages teaching singing to local communities, culminating in them holding mini concerts. Fortunately, some of the songs collected and composed by the Macintoshes were written down and thus at the concert they will be sung – some I suspect for the first time in more than 100 years.

Finally, the area is blessed with a brilliant youth music organisation – The Dunkeld and Birnam Traditional Youth Music Group. This wonderfully popular and successful initiative set up by Karys Watt and Gill Hunter gives free traditional music tuition to local children at their weekly classes. Established in 2022, they now number around keen 30 students – and they are already seasoned performers, appearing in local concerts and shows. As the next generation of traditional musicians, they are the perfect embodiment of the legacy of the MacIntosh family and the area’s strong and continuing musical heritage.

There will also be solo performances by Pete Clark and local fiddler Martin MacLeod, as well as addition music provided by other local amateur musicians. It will be a feast of traditional music – all of which will have been written or collected by the MacIntosh family.

An important additional part of the concerts is James Macintosh’s own fiddle which will be played throughout by each of the performers in turn. Sitting in its fiddle case unopened and un-played since James’s death in 1937 and looked after by a local family, the fiddle has now been serviced and repaired by Norrie Holton of Bankfoot. It will take its rightful place centre-stage, re-uniting it with the tunes that were composed and once played on it.

James Macintosh’s fiddle being repaired in Norrie Holton’s workshop
Image: Norrie Holton

MacIntosh Exhibition – 13th September to 14th October

The MacIntosh celebrations will also include a month-long exhibition exploring the lives and work of the MacIntosh family. Held at Birnam Arts in their first-floor exhibition area and curated by The Chapter House Museum Trust (the parent body to the Dunkeld Community Archive), the exhibition will contain material sourced from the Archive, other organisations and local private individuals. It will be made up of artifacts, documents, photographs and manuscripts connected with the MacIntosh family, and will include:

  • Music manuscripts written by James Macintosh
  • James Macintosh’s fiddle
  • A length of tartan ribbon given on his death bed to James’s mother in 1854 by Count Roehenstart, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s last remaining descendant.
  • First edition music collections once owned by the MacIntosh family, including Niel Gow’s 1784 Collection of Strathspeys and Reels
  • Photographs taken by James Macintosh. James built his own camera and took photographs of the area, local characters and notable events. We are fortunate that prints from the glass plate negatives of 50 of these photographs have survived, giving a fascinating insight into life in Dunkeld around 1900. Copies of these prints will be available to purchase from Birnam Arts.

Washerwoman at the Tay next to Dunkeld Bridge, taken by James Macintosh (1846-1937)
Image: The Chapter House Museum Trust

The MacIntosh Fiddlers of Inver Music Collection

This culmination of the research into the MacIntosh family is a compilation of the tunes and songs written and collected by the MacIntosh family. The book will be published in late 2024 and will also contain brief biographies of the family members as well as background information on the individual tunes. As an interesting aside, each generation of the MacIntosh family spelled their surname differently, with even siblings using different variations!

The MacIntosh Fiddlers of Inver promises to be an interesting, informative and hugely enjoyable exploration of a local family, their music and their lives. It will provide both a glimpse into C18th and C19th Dunkeld when it was at the epicentre of Scottish fiddling, as well as the story of how that tradition developed, and indeed, has continued to flourish in the local community to the present day. We would love if you were able to come and join in our celebration!

For further information and tickets for The MacIntosh Fiddlers of Inver concerts and play, see the Birnam Arts website:

https://birnamarts.com/festival-The-MacIntosh-Fiddlers-of-Inver-id449

 

Guitar with String Quartet: A Musical Dream Come True – by Will McNicol

📷 by Adam Bulley

I’ve been playing with the idea of guitar with string quartet since I was at university – I loved the potential. The idea, on paper, was relatively simple – take compositions of mine for solo guitar and weave the strings around them – getting the guitar to sit amongst the ensemble. The execution, however, was anything but simple. I could get the dots on the page, it sounded good, but it lacked the magic of someone who really knew how to get the most out of the strings, to find the magic moments and to get the instruments to really soar.

Fast forward a few years and I happened upon that very person in Ullapool in the Highlands, at the annual guitar festival up there. Innes Watson – the man I had been looking for to bring that magic that I’d been missing! I shared my thoughts and ideas with him, and we agreed after a few pints that it was worth exploring. And explore it we did!

Not only that, but Innes got together a super-group of Scotland’s finest to bring the parts to life. Violin I – Seonaid Aitken, Violin II – Innes himself, Viola – Patsy Reid and Cello – Alice Allen. What a bunch – all exceptional and an absolute dream come true to work with them. The string quartet was named Innotet, after its founder.

We set about working on our first single in 2017 – a tune steeped in my own Scottish heritage called Emma. I can still remember my feeling of elation, waiting for the flight home and listening to a rough mix. Innes had spun magic, Seonaid, Patsy and Alice had brought it all to life. An album had to be the next step.

So, in 2019 we set about recording our debut album, Volume One, where we took 10 of my solo guitar compositions, Innes did his magical thing with the string arrangements, we collaborated, rehearsed and recorded at GloWorm Studios in Glasgow. It was the most enjoyable recording session I’d been a part of for years – hearing everything come to life so beautifully.

But I’d called the debut album Volume One for a reason. You can’t just release a Volume One and not follow it up – that would be silly. I knew we had more to give, and after all the proof of our recordings and performances previous, I knew it could only get better. So, five years later I had a list of 12 new pieces ready for the Innotet magic. We knew the drill, and we knew what we wanted to achieve and how to get even better off the back of the first album.

After months of collaborating on the arrangements, we headed back to GloWorm in December last year to record Volume Two. Somehow, it was even more enjoyable than the first time around. There was a confidence about it all now, as we knew the process, and had such a clear idea of our intentions. Seonaid, Innes, Patsy and Alice played their hearts out, and the energy from them fed back to me in the guitar booth. I’ll remember our time together for the rest of my life, that’s for sure.

And now I find myself writing this, on the cusp of the new album’s release on 30th August 2024, feeling immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to make my musical dreams a reality with some of the finest musicians and people around. It’s a true celebration of what can happen when we get together to collaborate.

I do hope you enjoy listening to the album as much as we enjoyed making it!

A Trilogy of Low Whistle Trios from Fraser Fifield – Part 3: “Second Sight”

📷 by Archie MacFarlane

Thanks very much to the Traditional Music Forum for this invite to explain a little about my new album release, Second Sight. It’s a collection of 9 original tunes, recorded with guitarist Graeme Stephen and bassist Elie Afif over a day in May this year.

Graeme is probably the musician I’ve worked with most over many years, while Elie I met for the first time making this music. I think overall the music sounds a little freer, more spontaneous, than other recordings I’ve made, so I’m pleased for that.

Second Sight is the third of three trio albums I’ve made over the past year and a half thanks to Creative’s Scotland’s support. Each album has the low D whistle playing a leading role, stretching my playing (and writing) while retaining a musical ethos I can describe as authentic. Each album was recorded in just a day, which in itself helps create some sense of unity across the collection.

Disclaimer – a paragraph of musician talk follows. I should perhaps mention that in 2009 I asked Colin Goldie, a whistle maker based in Germany, to drill an extra tone hole to be covered by the lower hand thumb, on the back on my 4 low whistles. This gives a minor third to the natural scale, i.e. an F natural on a D whistle – I found it improves the G#/Ab on the second octave too. There are fingered positions for all notes of the chromatic scale except the minor second (Eb on a D whistle) – but that turns out to be not a big deal – you don’t have to move much to half-open the lowest tone-hole and you just get used to the position, like if there was a key there to slide on to. I’ve found using cross-fingering instead of half-holing makes the playing of faster passages much more achievable. There may be one or two players interested in all this but I’m thinking as I write, would my younger self have listened?! Perhaps not I’ll have to admit. I’ve come to realise that, perhaps obviously, you’ve got to really want to make the sounds to put the required work in. For many years I was happy enough in my existing furrow. It took a relatively long while to find beauty in what had previously only sounded complicated…the journey continues!

Trio recording 9 May 2024 – photo by Fraser Fifield

The motivation behind the project, I could say, comes out of years of having to (genuinely wanting to came later) find ways to successfully play low whistle in musical situations you might say it has no business being in! If it weren’t for a knowledge of the saxophone, I probably wouldn’t have got far trying to play more chromatic music on low whistle. Over time the similarity between the two instruments, whistle/sax, became apparent  – one has a lot of extra metal work around the sides and closes/opens the tone holes with pads/keys while the other has just six or seven open tone holes which you cover with your fingers, both are metal tubes essentially. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got to the point where I thought it’d be nice to document some low whistle playing in contrasting settings… drums/electric piano, violin/harp and guitar/bass setting the respective scenes. And despite all the technical talk I’ve just put you through, my guiding principle is always, I can reassure, does it sound/feel good?

Encore for One Great Circle at St Cecilia’s Hall – photo by Thalia Blacking

The second album of this series of trios, One Great Circle, was released in March this year. Chris Stout and Catriona McKay, the acclaimed fiddle/harp duo, joined me. We, Chris, Catriona and I, were all at music college together toward the end of the last century, going on to make a couple of quintet albums under Chris’s leadership in the early 000s… meaning I could maybe lean on them a little to get involved! The resulting music is, if I had to apply a label, a kind chamber-folk – moving harmonically but has a recognisable Scottish folk/trad sound throughout, partly through the instrumentation and our approach to playing. We have performances scheduled for this autumn in NE Scotland and NE England – come and see us! The theme and titles come via a new found appreciation of a true Scottish legend, the late Stanley Robertson. I would recommend searching out his storytelling on Tobar an Dualchais, especially if like me, you’ve a fondness for the Doric culture of North East Scotland.

Fraser Fifield SECRET PATH trio – photo by Archie MacFarlane

Continuing with this anti-chronological approach, the first of this series is ‘Secret Path’, released in June 2023. Paul Harrison and Tom Bancroft joined me, playing Wurlitzer piano and drums respectively. We’ve gone on to play some lovely gigs as the Secret Path Trio, Edinburgh Jazz Festival was our most recent. Promoters, by the way, should definitely get in touch if interested in these new trios.

It’s been a most prolific 18 months or so and I’ve learned a good deal in the process. I’ll close by taking this opportunity to sincerely thank again all who have contributed,

Musicians: Paul Harrison, Tom Bancroft, Catriona McKay, Chris Stout, Elie Afif and Graeme Stephen.

Recording Mixing and Mastering: Kevin Burleigh, Keir Long, Daniel Denholm, Mattie Foulds and Chris Waite.

Design: Archie MacFarlane

Fraser Fifield with Paul Harrison & Tom Bancroft – SECRET PATH
Released 30 July 2023

Fraser Fifield with Chris Stout & Catriona McKay – ONE GREAT CIRCLE
Released 8 March 2024

Fraser Fifield with Graeme Stephen & Elie Afif – SECOND SIGHT
Released 2 Aug 2024

 

www.fraserfifield.com
www.fraserfifield.bandcamp.com

MAKING ‘VENT’ – by Laura Jane Wilkie

📷 by Ray Kelly Photography

I love living and working in Glasgow as a fiddle player. The sessions are some of the best in the world and I’ve always loved, and still love playing music in pubs with others whenever I can.
There was though, a moment around 2019 that I started to feel like there was a bit of a ‘glut’ of a certain sound or style of traditional music in the city and at music festivals I’d been to or played at.
The music was all brilliant, full of virtuosity and high energy.
I began to feel a bit disconnected emotionally from playing and hearing that so often.

I sought new sounds and material (accidentally) by going along to a gorgeous song session run by the wonderful and wonderfully versatile musician and singer Josie Duncan.

I brought my fiddle along and really enjoyed the way everyone was listening to one another. It was a very ‘responsive’ session and was loads of fun. From Bob Dylan, to the Beatles, to Dick Gaughan and then a good half hour of Gaelic songs and puirt a beul songs.
I had found connection to music and trad tunes in the city again!

Now, though my grandmother and her cousins had Gaelic, they were discouraged from speaking it or teaching it to the younger generation. Alas it never made its way to me.

Why did I feel such a strong connections to these songs when I a) didn’t have the language b) wasn’t a ‘singer’?

I began a search for more songs on the archive website ‘Tobar an Dualchais’ where I was really drawn to the contributions of Kate MacDonald of South Uist. Lots of her contributions were waulking songs. Such strong melodies and good stories when I read into them.

My friend and Gaelic singer Eilidh Cormack advised that though this contributor had passed away, her daughter lived in Inverness and was none other than the one-woman ceilidh, tradition bearer, piper, singer Rona Lightfoot.

After about a year of studying the tunes and having various conversations with my Gaelic speaking friends and musicians about whether I should pursue the idea:
To adapt these melodies as instrumentals in a bid to create something that felt new to me and would hopefully encourage other instrumentalists to engage with the wonderful music too!

With the help of Fiona Dalgetty (CEO of Feis Rois) I was put in touch with Rona and began studying the songs with her – trying my best to play things as closely to the way she or her mother had sung them.

Visiting Rona at her home in Inverness was my favourite part of the process. I was very nervous to get in touch. I thought she might wonder what on earth I was doing or think it was a daft idea.
However, she was extremely generous and over time I think she understood what I was trying to achieve and helped me hugely.
Her knowledge and passion (and humour) is amazing. She was 84 when we started hanging out. I feel so lucky to have spent time with her on these tunes and am proud to call her a friend. I visit whenever I’m in the area – sometimes I play the fiddle and she sings or we just sit and have a Gow’s roll (IYKYK) and a cup of tea.

With Rona’s approval I took the tunes to begin arranging – the tunes themselves were irregular in phrasing compared to the 16 bar forms I’d been playing for years.

Some of the songs are hundreds of years old. They were sung by women at work round a table ‘waulking’ tweed to render it useful for tailoring.

Waulking was a long arduous process – the workers sang and would change the words and make up new verses to allow them to tell the stories or gossip of the moment. Sometimes they would sing of grievances in their lives or aspirations. In this process none of their landlords/husbands/fathers or abusers were there to hear. It was a safe space to vent / process what was on their minds and feel support, release and often share humour with their peers.

I feel this really comes across in the melodies- even when you don’t speak the language. They’re looking for connection and are made to be shared.

I brought the arrangements to some of my most favourite musicians. Open minded, creative and brilliant at their instruments.

Each brought so much to the tracks – particularly Ian Carr. There is no guitarist like him on this earth and he is a wonderfully imaginative and skilled musician. I felt he and the others would approach the tunes in a way that would allow them to become pieces that would convey the emotions and the need for connection and community in a unique way.

The recording process was not without its difficulties! Travel and illness were both issues that got in the way a bit. But we got there.

As my first ‘solo’ record I found the process very challenging but gradually more and more rewarding.

I found myself able to let go of many insecurities and get on with the job a lot better than I ever had in my time as a musician. I wasn’t able to over think too much.
Really, what I wanted was the music to FEEL good and I knew that it would only feel good if everyone else involved was happy and comfortable.
The funding I got from Creative Scotland really helped me make that possible and cater to everyone’s needs as much as I could.

I had to change producer during the process and having Jane Ann Purdey helping me with the project was amazing. (I’d recommend anyone applying to make an album budget for a project manager to help oversee and problem solve! It’s invaluable!)

In the end, I co-produced the album with Sarah Hayes (Birdvox/Admiral Fallow/Wildings/Roaming Roots Review) it was a really fun part of the process and we had excellent mixing skills and experience of Andy Bell at Hudson Records helping us achieve the sounds we wanted.

Overall I learned a lot about: the music of the women in this country, the history of the women in the generations of Gaels, that in some ways not so much has changed(!)

I loved making friends with people embroiled in these traditions and listening hard to the music and information they shared.

I learned more about how individual all musicians are. Even the ones I’d worked with before. There is not one correct way to communicate musical ideas! It’s a bit of a journey, you need to trust each other and as a band ‘leader’ I really had to step up and adapt in order to get the most out of playing/recording/mixing and releasing this work.

I really hope that people who listen to it feel some sense of feeling, community and some humour too. Even more, I hope it might encourage other players to look into the archive themselves and interpret the material in their own unique ways!

Vent – by Laura Jane Wilkie
Released 5 July 2024
Available here

Artwork by Louise Bichan

Writing an Album with a Newly Invented Bagpipe – by Malin Lewis

My debut album Halocline is out. It’s been a long journey and it means so much to share it with the world.

I began making Smallpipes at the age of fourteen after approaching a local woodturner for lessons. I was always fascinated by sound itself, how simple tubes of wood and reeds could make such pure sounds and how their different shapes and styles influenced the timbre.

When I first heard about the Lindsay System Chanter I thought it sounded too good to be true; A Scottish Smallpipe with two octaves that was chromatic without any keys. When I auditioned for the Conservatoire in Glasgow I organised a meeting with Donald Lindsay the inventor of this magical chanter.

From the first note I played on these new Smallpipes I fell in love with them. They were rich warm and zingy but most of all they had this extended range the same as a whistle or Uilleann pipe. It felt like the potential was endless and no longer was I restricted by the 9 notes of the highland pipes. I asked Donald if he’d let me try making the first chanter out of wood and he generously shared the design and drawings with me.

I spent a month working away in my shed to build this new instrument which until now had only ever been made with a 3D printer. The result was better than I could have hoped. Eager to learn to play it, I fine-tuned the individual holes using a needle and beeswax, and I began to experiment with the shapes and intervals that fit under the hands.

I’ve always enjoyed writing tunes on instruments that I can’t play or have little understanding of; it forces you to listen and follow the melody, not your muscle memory. What I had now was a truly unique instrument with a familiar but new layout. It felt as though the instrument was guiding me as to what to play and what phrases it wanted to express. I started writing tunes that I would never have come up with on the fiddle or whistle. It felt like a blank canvas where everything felt fresh.

Hiraeth and Trans, the first two tracks on the album, were some of the first tunes I wrote with the chanter and they feel almost like a collaboration with the instrument itself. The two grew together.

At the same time as all of this I was getting to know my own identity as a trans person. It was a time for a lot of personal growth as well as moving to Glasgow from Skye.

There was less queer representation within the folk scene then and I feel like the Lindsay Chanter gave me a voice. It’s timbre let me express individuality with a personal sound and helped me to view our tradition from a truly unique and new perspective. It also let me explore bagpipe music from all over Europe, with it’s extended range and chromatic scale it can play harmonic minor scales for example which are particularly good for Finnish melodies.

The tunes from Halocline were written over the next five years. Moments in my life that felt particularly poignant combined with shapes and patterns that formed on this new bagpipe.

In February 2022 I was asked to write a New Voices commission for Celtic Connections. Although I began by writing a folk/techno piece using only acoustic instruments I quickly realised that this was my opportunity to write and perform on this new bagpipe with a larger band and create an album (which would soon become Halocline) in the fullest possible way.

After the sold out New voices concert and with the generous support of Creative Scotland I recorded Halocline in March 2023 in Gloworm Studios in Glasgow. I enlisted the skills of Andy Bell to record and mix my album and together we produced the album.

What has emerged is a record that encapsulates many of the emotions that I’ve been trying to express all my life. It is a deeply personal account of the joys of humanity and being your true self. I hope that when people listen to Halocline they can find their own stories, memories and relationships with the tunes.

It feels like a huge creative relief to let these stories out into the world. I’m so excited to tour the album with my lovely band (Ali Hutton and Sally Simpson) and share it with live audiences before beginning the next creative chapter!

Website – malinlewis.co.uk

Listen to Halocline – https://hudsonrecords.ffm.to/Halocline

Hiraeth – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ura9KBlAcuo

Halocline Mini Documentary – https://youtu.be/UlmxkWHz1dE

 

LIGHT ON WATER – by Sophie Joint

Artwork by the wonderful Orcadian painter and pianist Jennifer Austin

In May 2023, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to record my debut solo album, Light on Water. The album was recorded at Wee Studio in Stornoway by Keith Morrison. I was surrounded by beautiful landscape – the studio looks out onto the gorgeous Lewis coastline which fittingly matches the album title. It was released in late March and feels totally surreal that it is finally out in the world.

The album encapsulates the inspiration I find from Scotland’s unique and varied seascapes – the music reflects the different moods created by the constantly changing textures and sounds of the sea. I aimed to create a wide range of musical ideas pulling from my influences in classical, traditional and jazz music and I am so happy with the result.

I wrote the bulk of the music during a week away staying in Port Appin. I took two weeks off to completely immerse myself in writing the album, which was a challenging but rewarding time. I woke up every morning greeted by a stunning, sunlit peninsula, made a cup of tea and got to work.

The opening track, Morning Sun, was written on one of those mornings when I had just sat down at the piano, enjoying the morning light pouring into the kitchen and the sweet, simple melody was written. The piece establishes a recurring theme in the album – repetitive bass lines accompanied with increasing amounts of chords and textures to enhance the melodies. This decision was to mimic the rhythmic nature of the sea – the water is perpetually moving and changing whilst the unpredictable Scottish weather shapes how calm or stormy the sounds shall be. This track is a peaceful, slow introduction to the album that then transitions into a more fast paced and frantic mood.

Racing, the second track on the album was inspired by the many creatures in the sea that are hurriedly journeying through the water underneath the fast flowing currents. It was a very fun track to write and it came very easily as a progression and development of the opening track. I used multi-tracking to layer the riffs and chords as I wanted it to have the impression of overlapping melodies, just as the sea creatures cross paths as they voyage through the water.

📷 by Paul Jennings

The fast pace is maintained for the third track, Storm, as the mood changes into a minor key. The accompaniment to this melody develops the theme of repetitive rhythmic patterns as triplets gradually build tension throughout this piece. I wrote it with the image of what begins as slow falling rain, transitioning into a dramatic depiction of fierce winds and thunder.

There is a musical interlude from the water theme with an amazing tune written by Donogh Hennessy, Iníon Ní Scannláin. Lunasa recorded this waltz in 2006 on their album The Merry Sisters of Fate. I play the tune much slower, and took the approach of how I would arrange a slow air, and really enjoyed experimenting with the harmony for this track.

The title for the fifth track, Apricity, is an unusual term for the sudden warmth of the sun in winter. This summed up the culmination of my musical exploration around Scotland, which ended at an Edinburgh harbour with shafts of brilliant sunlight transforming an urban landscape on one of the coldest days of the year.

The music video for the next track caused quite a stir. I had the ambitious (slightly daft) idea of getting a grand piano out onto a pier, and thanks to the incredible team at Pianodrome and my videographer Paul Jennings, we managed to do just that. We filmed the video at Wardie Bay in Edinburgh and the piano was wheeled out over the rocky, icy surface much to the confusion of the locals. The story was picked up by The Daily Record and The BBC, as after we finished recording the video the piano was left unattended for a couple of hours which caused people to wonder how the mystery grand piano ended up at Granton Harbour.

 

The next track, Easter Snow is a lovely traditional Irish air. It is a very popular tune among flute players and my version was particularly inspired by Matt Molloy’s version, recorded on his album Pathway to the Well with John Carty in 2007.

The Lighthouse was inspired by one of my walks in Appin during a break from writing. I had hit a wall in terms of coming up with new ideas and getting out into the fresh air had given me a new lease of life. The melody came to me as I sat watching the Sgeir Bhuidhe lighthouse that sits of the western side of Loch Linnhe, just across the coast from the island of Lismore.

Seaside is a short track that encompasses the peaceful joy of sitting by the water and watching the waves crashing. I recorded the album on the famous Yamaha C7 grand piano at Wee Studio and one of the obstacles we encountered was minimising distracting noises such as a squeaky pedal, or a chair creaking. However, in this track, we discovered a happy accident. If you listen closely to the recording, as I press the sustain pedal, the noise of the dampers lifting off of the strings makes a sound reminiscent of sea foam.

The final track is titled Church Bells. The chords are inspired by the noise of church bells ringing in the distance. Just as this sound echoes far and wide, this melody journeys through several different keys, starting in A flat major, modulating to D flat and finishing in G major. I though it would be a perfect was to finish the album as it’s a peaceful, serene ending. This composition strays away from the previously established musical themes, signifying the start of something new.

Writing and recording this album was a dream come true for me, it was a steep learning curve and I was supported every step of the way by Keith Morrison and Scott Macleod who as well as mixing and mastering the album were a great comfort to me throughout the process. I was very fortunate, and could not have done it without the never-ending support of my friends and family too!

I am so looking forward to making more new music soon, if you’d like to stay up to date please head to my website www.sophiejoint.com.

All the best,
Sophie

********************

Light on Water released 22nd March 2024, available from:

Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music

VOLUNTEERING – THE ROOTS OF TRAD by Rachel Hair

I’m Rachel and I guess I’m what you’d describe as a mid-career professional musician, having been fortunate enough to enjoy some 18 years freelancing in performing and teaching Scottish harp. It’s had its ups and downs but I’m now at a point in my career where I genuinely love everything I do, and I’m thankfully managing to survive financially.

With Ron Jappy and Japanese band John John Festival at Mori Michi Ichiba festival

I’ve seen many changes in our traditional music scene in Scotland. Many of my personal experiences have been thanks to the work of volunteers: whether that be committee members at the local fèis, the Clàrsach Society local branch harp hire organiser, artist liaisons and drivers at festivals. All have helped me in my life, and all help shape our traditional music scene here in Scotland; helping keep it rooted in our communities.

With Celtic Colours festival volunteer driver Woody and Manx singer Ruth Keggin

But the last few years have been tough. Organisations and festivals have struggled to source volunteers – whether that’s committee or board members for year round planning, or people to help once the event itself begins. I remember a board member of a trad organisation speaking about “volunteer fatigue” – people have grown used to having more free time during lockdown, so have been hesitant to get involved again once life restarted.  I’ve also heard just this last month of 2 music/folk clubs who have pleaded for more volunteers to join their ageing committees; as if they can’t form a committee, they can’t continue to put on concerts.

So I’m hoping that this blog might help convince you to volunteer – whether you’re someone who enjoys listening to traditional music, plays it as a hobby, or is even a professional full-time musician, and help our traditional music scene to continue to flourish.

For the last 10 years I’ve been a volunteer committee/team member of the Edinburgh International Harp Festival. I was a bit of a surprise member – I remember observing a Clàrsach Society Executive Council meeting and they announced that harpist Patsy Seddon would be joining as an Artistic Advisor to the festival. Someone said something along the lines of, “Is there anyone else who’d like to join the committee” and I bravely raised my hand – I think folk were a bit surprised, however, I also remember Patsy keenly nodding her head at me!

Rachel playing in a session at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival (John Davidson)

Looking back, I think that I just wanted to be more involved in the festival, as I had enjoyed attending as a punter, and latterly, as a tutor. Now, however, I can see how my experiences as a professional musician have, alongside our fantastic team, helped us to grow the event into one of the world’s largest harp festivals.

Volunteering can be so much more than giving something back. As we grow older, we become more experienced in our chosen careers and I believe that using the skills we have learned in these is key to being a useful volunteer. At our festival, we have a team of 8 year-round volunteer organisers aided by 2 part time paid workers. We’re a mixture of professional and harp enthusiasts, with everyone on our team having a role in which they can use their own skills and experiences.

For me, it means sharing my knowledge of how other harp festivals I perform and teach at work, and using the skills I’ve learnt in publicising and marketing myself as a self-releasing artist to benefit the marketing of the festival. Our festival stage manager has been a professional musician for over 30 years. She’s had so many good and bad experiences in her career, that she knows exactly what the ideal on and off stage environment should be for artists, and how to effectively schedule soundchecks.

Our tech manager runs his own Event Services company, meaning he’s able to advise us on what we need in terms of crew and equipment for sound and lights; ensuring they have the right working conditions to do a top-notch job. Our sponsorship co-ordinator used to work for a global company, and this experience means that she always uses the right tone when approaching companies for sponsorship.

It’s not all about using the skills you already have: being a volunteers allows you to learn new ones. For example, I’m a talker; so I’ve tried really hard to listen more and be more patient. (It’s still a work in process!) Being involved behind the scenes at a festival has also helped me plan my own tours more productively.

Rachel with fellow Harp Festival volunteer committee member and steward co-ordinator Annette (John Davidson)

I’ve felt so many benefits from being a volunteer on our team. I find great joy in knowing that I’m helping create an event that people love attending; an event that creates work for artists and tutors, and allows people to engage with and learn traditional music. As a freelance professional, most of what I do day-to-day can feel self indulgent and self-centred; so it’s good to give back and be part of a team made up of people of all ages, and from a variety of careers and backgrounds.

Ultimately, the reward of seeing our festival successfully happen each year is the biggest thrill. I’ve made lifelong friends, that are both artists and repeat festival visitors. I also get to hear some phenomenal music for free every year!

Volunteers at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival (John Davidson)

So, do you have skills that could benefit a local folk club, festival or traditional teaching organisation? Are you a finance ace, meaning you could help cash up at the end of events or be a treasurer? A whizz with words, to help write funding applications or sponsorship emails?

Skilled at taking minutes at meetings? Or a people person, who could welcome visitors and take tickets at a door? If so, why not give it a go? Our folk clubs, festivals and organisations really need us to help our scene to continue to grow.

Some tips if you are going to take that first step into volunteering:

  • Be honest about how much time you can dedicate. Can you be a year-round organising volunteer, or are you better suited to a “during event” role?
  • Think about what you can bring to a team – passion is key, but do you have any other skills from your own experiences and career?
  • If you’re struggling with a task as a volunteer, ask for help or tell someone else in your team. Burnout is real, and I struggle at times with the balance of my freelance work and festival volunteer work.

 

And if you’re not yet able to take that step, some things to remember:

  • If you’re at an event, festival, or dealing with an organisation, please try to be nice and polite to those working there. Many will be volunteers, donating their free time.
  • If you’re emailing or contacting an event, festival or organisation on social media, please be aware that many of the people who will reply will be volunteers, and definitely won’t be working 24/7; so it may be a while until you get a reply.

 

To finish, I should tell you that the next Edinburgh International Harp Festival takes place from the 5-9th April at George Watson’s College and we’re still looking for volunteers! If you’d like to get involved, or just come along to our great series of concerts, courses, workshops and sessions visit: https://www.harpfestival.co.uk/about/volunteer/

THE NORTHERN ISLES SUITE – by Miguel Girão

📷 by Martin Venherm

The Northern Isles Suite is a collection of traditional tunes from Orkney and Shetland arranged for solo acoustic guitar. The piece of music draws influence from classical music, having a compositional/musical structure that has been used by composers, for a multitude of different musical works and genres across the centuries. It is also inspired by contemporary music, exploring new harmonies, inclusion of compositional passages at times stemming from fragments of traditional melodies, or sometimes introducing foreign musical elements to the overall musical arrangement. It brings together several musical worlds such as trad, jazz, classical, and modern music through my own creative lens.

It embodies my love and interest for the culture of the Northern Isles of Scotland, and the musician’s quest to create an artefact that will contribute to the preservation and renewal of their cultural heritage.

“These are unique arrangements of beautiful tunes, all played with great attention to detail and fabulous musicality.”
Will McNicol

The music, culture, and landscape of the Northern Isles of Scotland has provided me with a wealth of creative output as a musician for the past two and a half years. The process of starting to get to know this corner of the world has led me to a variety of learning experiences that have allowed me to develop my technical ability on the guitar, expand my creative conception, and finesse the idea of creating a body of work that exists in symbiosis with the perspective of an individual, an ancestral past, its relevance in the present, and the creation of an artefact that voices a place.

Initially I didn’t set out to make a new record. A multitude of professional, academic, and personal reasons led me down a path of creation and exploration. Above all I just found myself in a place of wanting to dive into tune collections and archive recordings aiming to find music that resonates within me and that conveyed a deep sense of place. At the early stages of development, I was also researching about differences and similarities between the wedding traditions of Orkney and Shetland. That was an incredibly enriching part of the whole creative process, not just in terms of self-enrichment, but also because I managed to conduct interviews with tradition bearers from both archipelagos that substantially fed into my understanding of this corner of the world.

Over the course of time the search for music, meaning and sounds converged closer and closer together and then the idea of working towards a new recording project dawned on me. I still didn’t have all the music ready, but now I had a very clear view of what to achieve and how to do it.

At this point it is important to mention the fact that all throughout the creation of this project, I was incredibly fortunate to have the advice and guidance of guitarist and composer, Will McNicol. Will’s input proved to be paramount, and I am ever grateful to have had the chance to have him with me along the way.

In line of pledging my gratitude to those who in any way contributed to the making of this project, I’d also like to leave a heartfelt Thank You! to all my Kickstarter Crowdfunding supporters, everyone who came to my house gig and donated towards the cause, and lastly and certainly not least, to the Martyn Bennett Memorial Trust. The Trust has done remarkable work in preserving Martyn’s memory as well as providing support for young and upcoming artists. To ALL of you, thank you so much. This wouldn’t have come into reality without you.

The melodies featured on this EP all refer to different places, artefacts, rituals, and creatures, associated with the Northern Isles of Scotland.

The 1st movement – Da Day Dawn – is an ancient melody from Shetland which in the old days would only be played at dawn of the 1st day of the New Year. In a parish, in Shetland, a fiddle player would go from door to door and play this tune as a means of symbolising a new beginning. It’s one of Shetland’s most iconic tunes, and one that allows us to gaze at old customs, which, although more sporadically, are still practiced in modern times.

The 2nd movement – The Deerness Reel / Shelders Geo – takes the listener to the East side of Mainland Orkney with The Deerness Reel, and references the Oystercatchers that can be seen soaring around the Northern Isles with the Shetland tune, Shelders Geo. In this movement there is a wide array of guitar sounds, techniques, and textures. It serves as a testament to the sonic capabilities of the instrument.

The 3rd movement – The Standing Stones of Stenness – it comes back to the evocative landscape of Orkney with this iconic landmark. It also takes us into a deeper more pagan past that is embedded in Orkney’s history and Scandinavian connections. This is a murder ballad I found while on Tobar an Dualchais. The narrative refers to a couple who pledge their love to each other, after which the man is killed by his rival out jealousy and the lady is left to mourn.

Not disregarding the tragic nature of the lyrics that go with inherent beauty of this melody, the aspect that most draws my attention is the pagan ritual to which it refers to. In the old days, in Orkney, there used to be a ritual that was performed to secure a couple’s love for each other. During this ritual, the couple went to the Temple of the Moon (Ring of Stennis), where the woman would pray to the god Wodden to enable her to fulfil her promise. Afterwards, the man would do the same at the Temple of the Sun (Ring of Brogar). Finally, they would both go to the Stone of Odin, which had a hole on it. They would both kneel, one on each side of the stone, and lock each other’s right hands through the hole and swore to be faithful to one another. This ritual was regarded as sacred and failing to commit to it would cause an individual to be excluded from the community.

The 4th movement – Da Trowie Burn – In a way the whole thing ends at the beginning. When I first started delving into these tunes, Da Trowie Burn marked the beginning of the process. Through the exploration of this melody I developed a harmonic vocabulary and use of guitar technique that shaped the conception of the entire suite. It also allowed me to develop a musical discourse with which I identify myself a lot with. In a way it felt like I discovered a form of expression which I had been looking for a long time.

Originally composed by Friedeman Stickle, this tune comes from the Isle of Unst, the most northerly point in the UK. Stickle was originally from Germany and there exists some speculation as to how and why he ended up in Shetland. One theory – which is presented by the account of John Stickle (Friedeman’s great grandson) – says that in the second half of the 18th century a sailor had washed ashore in the Isle of Unst. Having survived the shipwreck, he then established himself in Unst for the rest of his life. He was the first in a long lineage of celebrated musicians in the Isle.

I’ve had the chance to travel up to Shetland a good number of times over the last couple of years. I normally stay at the southern end of the Mainland, in Sandwick. To me Da Trowie Burn is incredible evocative of this part of Shetland and whenever I’m not there and listen to this melody, it instantly takes me back to the landscape there.

Da Day Dawn – Filmed and Edited by Vaila Walterson. Shot at The Perace Institute, Glasgow.

“A new and genuinely unique voice in contemporary Scottish trad. You really haven’t heard this before.” Martin Green (Lau)

Finally, I want to make the point that this project stands as a testament to the idea that the traditional arts are one of the several threads that constitute the cultural DNA of a nation and its people, but also have the capacity to be the assembly point between themselves and other forms of artistical expression. This project is very special to me. It comes from a place of curiosity and respect for the past, the need to understand it, cherish it and project it onwards with the carrying stream.

If you’d like to chat about this or any other projects of mine the best way to do so is to go on to my website – https://miguelgirao.com/ – I’d be delighted to discuss any questions.

All the best,
Miguel

The Northern Isles Suite – by Miguel Girão
Released 9th Feb 2024
Available from bandcamp
Artwork and design by Chloe Keppie