INTRODUCTION
The Scottish Gaelic word for journey is ‘Astar’: this was also the title for my recent New Voices Commission for Celtic Connections 2007. The New Voices series provides a platform for the performance of new Celtic music and allows selected musicians to develop an entirely new piece, which is outwith the boundaries of their usual work. The Astar concert at Celtic Connections was very successful and received rave reviews by press and public alike.
THE CONCEPT
The theme or through-line of this concert is the journey - travelling, searching, an essential moment in the human condition. Journey is a rich metaphor in which to explore getting from here to there - musically, geographically, historically, culturally and simply as a human walking this earth. Sometimes a desired destination is attained; sometimes the destination is eternally elusive. And often, the journey is more about itself than about the destination. In any case, journey has so many parallels with music and with life itself. A journey implies a place we are from, and a place we are going.
Journeys are integral to the history of any people - the Scots are no exception. From the highland clearances, to emigration to the New World, journeys of exploration and establishment of trade in the Canadian Northwest - all these journeys are part of the collective history of Scotland and the New World.
COLLABORATORS
From left to right the musicians involved are:
- Brian McAlpine (Perth) - piano
- Will Oldham (Kentucky) - vocals, guitar
- Eilidh Mackenzie (Inverness) - vocals
- Jenn Butterworth (Carrbridge) - guitar/vocals
- Donald Hay, at back (Edinburgh) - percussion
- Nuala Kennedy (Aviemore) - vocals, flutes, whistles
- Oliver Schroer
(Toronto) - 5 string fiddle, vocals
- Mario Caribe,
at back (Edinburgh) - 5 string bass
- Daniel Lapp
(Vancouver)- trumpet, vocals, fiddle
also integral to the
show is:
- Clare Taverner (Newcastle) – live video projection
Please click on any of the above website links for more information on this international line-up.
These musicians bring a wealth of varied experience to the project. There is a strong traditional Scottish component with Eilidh Mackenzie and myself, both being singers in Gaelic and English. Jenn Butterworth is very active in the traditional field, singing and accompanying. Both Daniel Lapp and Mario Caribe bring jazz expertise, with a lot of concurrent experience in traditional music. Oliver Schroer is a unique voice in Canadian music, as is Will Oldham in Kentucky. Brian McAlpine and Donald Hay are seasoned professionals on the Scottish scene, who have played in many varying contexts. Many audience members remarked upon the remarkable ease with which different genres of music were brought to bear in so natural a manner, within what was a traditional music context.
THE PROGRAMME
The programme itself is an extended journey. It includes original and traditional songs and tunes, arranged for a 9-piece band, and multimedia projections filmed in real time. The show is essentially rooted in Scottish traditional music and has both strong instrumental and vocal content, both in Gaelic and English.
At the same time, I have used traditional elements in non-traditional ways to push the envelope on trad. music forms without compromising them. As well as writing original tunes for Astar, I tried to take a freer approach and to provide an open framework for myself and the musicians to contribute their own individual creative spark. Parts of the programme are thus highly arranged, and other parts more fluid and open. Much as one would expect of any long journey.
The programme begins with a Gaelic song I have written entitled ‘A’ Siubhal’ (Travelling) This song is an early reference to the main piece of the show, written from the viewpoint of Fair Annie as she sails the seas.
The long middle section of the programme is an extended version of the epic ballad of Fair Annie, (also known as Annie of Loch Royal, or Lord Gregory), who searches for her lover. This version is less a song, and more a tableau, a journey on a grand scale set to music and voice. It makes use of a lot of extended techniques on traditional instruments to create a soundscape of instrumental and vocal textures and tunes, as well as the lyrics of the ballad.
The show includes some beautiful songs written by American singer/songwriter Will Oldham, who also sings on Fair Annie, a ballad that migrated to America from Scotland and Ireland ) and was adopted there as their own. (I first heard it on a recording of the traditional singer Lizzie Cronin, which was given to me by my friend Cathal McConnell).
The instrumental pieces composed for Astar include some inspired by my many years living and playing music in Scotland, but also contain references to Cape Breton, a place with which I feel a special affinity, and to my creative collaborative musical experiments in New York. For me these journeys into new geographic and musical territories have enriched my perspectives immeasurably. Of course, there are references to my traditional roots in Ireland, and also to the classical music which was influential during my formative years. The places I have journeyed from and the places I have travelled to.
ASTAR: JOURNEY - Live Photos
REVIEW: Nuala
Kennedy, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow 21st Jan
Dave Prater **** Glasgow Herald REVIEW
ANYONE expecting a light bite at Sunday’s lunchtime concert was treated to a great big gorgeous trifle of a musical event. So many layers, so many tastes: folk, funk, jazz, country. Put together it shouldn’t have worked, but flautist Nuala Kennedy’s New Voices commission was a triumph and may just have taken Scottish music in an new direction.
The sheer ambition of the programme, Astar:Journey was matched by the stellar line-up of musicians, including Mario Caribe on bass, Oliver Schroer on fiddle and Will Oldham (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) on guitar, vocals and dubious dance steps. Combining some of Kennedy’s own composition with traditional songs and a couple of tunes from the Oldham canon, including the glorious Maundering, the hour-long performance was one seamless segue of breathtaking music and tight vocal harmonies.
At Astar’s centre was a take on the traditional ballad Fair Annie which took on epic proportions. The backdrop of abstract imagery by Clare Tavernor only enhanced the sense of movement as the show gathered momentum. One of the most exciting Sunday afternoons I’ve ever had.