Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, 9-14 April 2010

Corrina Hewat (© Lieve Boussauw)

CELTIC CULTURE has always been particularly fond of harps; the harp is the national instrument of Ireland, in whose tradition Turlough O’Carolan holds a place comparable to that of the legendary MacCrimmon family of Skye in ours. The bass sound from a full-sized harp is a formidable thing, exceeding even the power of a double bass, and in recent decades many ancient harping traditions have been enjoying a revival.

The word International in this lesser-known of the many Edinburgh festivals was no idle boast, including harp players from as far afield as Paraguay and Thailand. There is something for everyone in this festival, with workshops for all ages and abilities; even non-players are catered for with classes in singing and percussion, ceilidh, step and Breton dancing, massage sessions, an exhibition and a programme of concerts in the decidedly Hogwartian surroundings of the Memorial Hall at Merchiston Castle School.

In the Monday afternoon concert, Paul Dooley from Dublin plucked a small wirestrung harp with his fingernails, resulting in a sound which could be described as a cross between a zither and a spinet, with a charming old-fashioned quality which often sounded like a window into the auditory past. Laconic and laidback to a degree which even in Ireland might be noticeable, Dooley gave a masterclass full of dazzling musicianship interspersed with fascinating details from the history of harp-playing.

Despite an avowed intention of sticking to a Scottish theme, tunes included Welsh feasting tunes, Breton dances (stunning), his own compositions, and ancient Irish tunes, but the standout tune was a strathspey from 1750 played from the rare full notation for both left (melody) and right (bass) hands, including ornamentation that would have taxed a concert pianist.

Like The Shee, the 6-piece girl band to which they both belong, Rachel Newton (harp) and Lillias Kinsman-Blake (flute) represent a fusion of traditional musicianship and imaginative modern-inflected arrangements of old and new tunes. Starting with ‘The Bonnie Lassie’, their delightful set went on to a ‘quite cheery’ Gaelic song about smuggling whisky to Ireland which used rhythm and emphasis to suggest rowing thorough a rolling swell of the sea.

‘The Rich Man’s Daughter’, a ballad of incest and murder, was strong meat for a Monday afternoon, but the audience loved it. Relaxed, confident performances with some lovely syncopated bass from the harp earned them a well-deserved encore.

The Gaelic song tradition is overpoweringly rich in laments – sweethearts are missing, unfaithful, or drowned, love is lost or hopeless, homes are abandoned or forcibly left behind – but Gaelic concerts are always happy occasions full of laughter and lovely lilting voices.

Tuesday night’s set by singer and harp-player Maggie MacInnes was no exception, helped by the inclusion of plenty of waulking songs from her ancetral Mingulay and Barra tradition, and by the companionable humour of her accompanists, Brian McAlpine on keyboards and accordion and Anna Massie on guitar.

Corrina Hewat followed with a welcome reprise of her 1998 Celtic Connections commission, Making the Connection, a suite of five movements inspired by that festival which stands up well as a pioneer work integrating the Scottish tradition with everything from classical music to jazz.

With a stellar lineup of Mr McFall’s Chamber, Donald Hay, Inge Thomson, Mairi Campbell, and the harps of Hewat and Mary Macmaster, there was no room on stage for piper Lorne Macdougall, who stepped into the late Martyn Bennett’s shoes from the shadows under the balcony. ‘The Office’ featured pizzicato breathing and wove the ethereal voices of Thomson, Campbell, Hewat and Macmaster into something quite unforgettable. Bouquets to all the performers and to Tim Matthew for sound.

© Jennie Macfie, 2010

Links

• Edinburgh International Harp Festival

• Jennie Macfie