A HIGHLAND production which puts Scotland’s DNA under a theatrical microscope has been sparking imaginations and inspiring audiences across the country.

INFINITE Scotland, touring now as part of the Year of Natural Scotland, explores the country’s contrasting landscapes, coastlines and cities using breathtaking images, music, film and words.

David Allison, Blythe Duff, Kenny Taylor and Bryan Beattie (photo Douglas Robertson)

‘Scotland small? Our multiform, infinite Scotland small?’ was a famously incredulous question posed by poet Hugh MacDiarmid, and inspiration for the groundbreaking multi media show, narrated onstage by Taggart actor Blythe Duff and writer and Culbokie-based broadcaster Kenny Taylor.

“Scotland’s environment and culture are inextricably linked strands of the country’s DNA,” explained producer Bryan Beattie, who is also from the Black Isle. “We wanted to explore that, using images, music and words. Putting Scotland’s DNA under the microscope in this way helps open our eyes to what’s around us.

“There are remarkable things around us every day that sometimes we just don’t notice – and some things that we have just not been aware of at all. Sometimes looking at what’s around us in a fresh way can reveal something completely new about it.”

Infinite Scotland blends scientific eyes and artistic creativity with astounding results. Grains of sand under an electron microscope, ancient sacred places, rocks, trees, mammals, birds – discovering the life and landscape around us and how we have interacted with it over millennia is profoundly compelling.

The stage show weaves awe-inspiring images by National Geographic photographer Laurie Campbell with atmospheric live music composed by David Allison and Gaelic singer Maeve MacKinnon. Films feature explorer Mark Beaumont, writers and broadcasters Richard Holloway and Muriel Gray, architect Malcolm Fraser and Gaelic singer and folklorist Margaret Bennett.

Video and production designer John McGeoch of Highland company Arts in Motion brought all the pieces together to create a spectacular multi-media journey across the beauty and wonder of Scotland.

“Visually the show was absolutely superb and I loved the clever and imaginative way it drew together its various strands,” said Alison Bell of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), who was among the audience at the packed opening night at Eden Court on Monday.

“Infinite Scotland combines superb literature with images, songs and music to give a great evening’s entertainment. I came away feeling I’d really learned a lot – and bursting to check out more. The first thing I did on getting home was dig out a book of Norman MacCaig poems!

“SNH funded the show along with Creative Scotland as part of the Year of Natural Scotland, which is all about promoting Scotland’s stunning natural beauty and biodiversity,” Alison added.

“Infinite Scotland does exactly that – it awakes a real interest and desire to find out more about our wildlife, landscapes and culture.”

An innovative web and social media presence is integral to the Infinite Scotland project, which invites audiences and online followers to interact and submit their own questions, words and images. Feedback on social networks has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

Catriona Ross is a freelance journalist and communications specialist who has been working on press and PR for Infinite Scotland.

© Catriona Ross, 2013

Links

• Infinite Scotland
• Infinite Scotland Facebook

FROM a snow covered Eden Court and with the night air sharp with frost, the intimate venue of the Bishop’s Palace provided a haven of warmth and a grandiose setting for an eclectic mix of ‘feel good’ musicality produced almost entirely from in and around the Highland capital, writes Ed Ley-Wilson.

THIS was a treat of Scottish and World ‘a cappella’, classical opera, jazz and blues, ‘swing’ string quartet, and sea shanties. How on earth would such a varied mix of music work together in one concert? Well the answer was, “Just perfectly” and was perhaps best summed up by one of the sell-out audience who enthused, “it all just makes me want to get out there and learn to sing.”

In Cahoots at the Perthshire Amber Festival

This is the first time that In Cahoots, directed by the formidable Margaret Rae, has brought together such a program and, judging by the quality of performance and the clear audience appreciation, it will not be the last.

The young tenor, Glen Cunningham, sang Handel, Schubert, Gluck and others with an emotional maturity way beyond his seventeen years. Clearly destined for great things, this Culloden Academy pupil ended his set with an emotional rendition of ‘Bring him home’ from Les Miserables…….hardly a dry eye in the house.

Laura Stewart travelled up from Fife and brought with her all the sophistication of two wonderful jazz blues numbers. She enhanced her sassy rendition of ‘Ain’t misbehavin’ with a clear touch of Marilyn Munro….booboobidoo’s to die for……..and, as the notes of ‘Cry me a river’ fell achingly about us, my eyes were drawn to a lonely couple strolling hand in hand in the snow under the lighted trees down by the river Ness. Perfect.

Animato String Quartet simply blew us away with an unbridled and highly ‘animated’ selection of jazz, blues and light classical. Their tango, fizzing with energy and passion, contrasted well with the softer classical arrangements for Saint Saens’ ‘The Swan’ and ‘The Elephant’ and then, after the interval, they ‘Put on the Ritz’ big time with three swinging numbers from Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Joe Garland. Bows and fingers flying over the strings, these four Highland lassies had the audience heads bobbing and feet tapping and, in the end, left us ‘In the Mood’ for more.

Another young team, Seumas, Donald and Peigi Barker, added a touch of Hollywood glamour to the evening. Springsteen’s ‘Hungry heart’ warmed us up, with Seamus on guitar and some lovely harmonies by Donald and Peigi. Then Peigi, only ten years old, sang the ‘lullaby’ she shared as a duet with Emma Thompson in the recently released Disney blockbuster ‘Brave’. A diminutive figure on stage, her voice belies her size and, for a few short minutes, time stood still. At the finish, we raised the roof.

In amongst all this carefully crafted talent, launched The Deep Cs. If anyone wanted some contrast to the proceedings then this was it! A more colourful, anarchic, enthusiastic and ‘manly’ bunch of singing mariners, one cannot imagine. Variously clad as seamen/pirates and dressed with all the paraphernalia of the sea, including a lobster pot, ropes, buoys, a bottle and some fish, they threw sea shanties out at the audience with gusto. A testosterone filled ‘Way, haul away’ and ‘The Drunken Sailor’ proved that these guys could sing and, with a humour and sense of fun that only a group of close friends who have been round the Horn together can create, their ‘Amsterdam Maid’ and ‘Doon by the Broomilaw’ had the audience rolling with laughter (or was it seasickness) and cheering to the not insubstantial rafters of the Bishop’s Palace itself.

And finally of course, the main act themselves, In Cahoots, an eleven strong group of Invernessian women, filled the intimate hall with four part harmonies and delivered a wonderful range of pieces from the traditional Scottish ‘Rousay Lullaby’, an exquisite ‘Amazing Grace’, through seasonal Christmas ‘partner’ songs, to the medieval ‘Gaudete’ (‘Rejoice’)…….and rejoice we did. Delicate harmonies executed with exquisite precision and a lightness of touch that perhaps only an all-ladies team can achieve. Their finale, ‘May your Cup Always Be Full’, sung on behalf of all the performers that night, wished us all health and peace and we left with our cups not only full but brimming over with the thrill of an evening well spent.

Unflappable piano accompaniment was provided by Aileen Fraser and interval champagne and canapés, flowers and stage graphics were all sponsored by Mackenzie Investment Strategies Ltd., Munro Nurseries and Dynam Graphics. This concert was clearly a collaboration of people who like to do things well.

Rarely these days, does this correspondent get gooey-eyed about Christmas and all that ‘good will’ stuff, but this sell-out night of musical “Christmas Cheer”, organised and directed by Margaret and her ‘In Cahoots’ team, has changed me for life. And as for ‘good will’, did I mention that the concert raised £2000 for the charity, ‘Dancing Eye Syndrome’, which provides support and information to the families of affected children as well as funding for research into treatment for this debilitating condition.

The Christmas spirit of ‘giving’ and good cheer is alive and well.

© Ed Ley-Wilson, 2012

FOR MANY years, Gilded Balloon have been bringing the best of new comedy talent to Scottish audiences.

THE COMPERE for Sunday’s show was gay Glaswegian comic Scott Agnew, with his witty comments about Inverness and the surrounding area. Although these references to the local area were relatively funny, they were greeted by an uncomfortable silence. I didn’t understand why the audience weren’t laughing more; I assume its since the acts are still up and coming, and the crowd needs them to earn the laughs. But Agnew worked hard, and eventually the 100 or so gig-goers were letting their reservations go.

Janey Godley (photo Steve Ullathorne)

Agnew then introduced the first comedian, Davey Connor, who didn’t have such a successful battle with extracting the laughs. Although his observations were funny, and he had some beautifully written routines, it would appear that the audience didn’t enjoy, and the customer is always right.

The third act was Aberdeen-dwelling Ed Patrick. Patrick was the only comic I’d never seen before, and surprisingly he was my favourite of the night. He had wonderfully crafted wordplay and a brilliant routine about a ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ type book called ‘Regeneration’. He was extremely good at working the grumpy crowd, and is certainly an act to watch out for.

After a short interval we were introduced to the superb headline act, Janey Godley. Godley is a stand up veteran with numerous Fringe shows under her belt, and just as many entertaining anecdotes. She mentioned her Aspergers suffering husband, late-life pregnancy and even launched into a McIntyre-esque routine on Airports. Janey’s set was the one which reduced the Eden Court audience to tears. She went down fantastically, and it was a great way to round off an evening of top class- bottom bill comics, all of which deserve a solid career.

Gilded Balloon Comedy Circuit returns to Eden Court in February, March and April next year.

© Connor Wallace, 2012

I DO hope they’ve had someone up there checking the roof at the Macphail this week because the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra must have come very close to blowing it off.

IF YOU weren’t there you can start kicking yourself now, because this review is only going to make you feel worse. What a night! The rain was lashing, the wind was slamming and the loch was boiling under a furious sky. Indoors, though, it was as cool as Fifth Avenue in April, and just as stylish, and as the set opened with a Buddy Rich classic, ‘Love for Sale’, no one in the room was left in a moment’s doubt about the virtuosity of this outfit.

Ruaridh Pattison (photo Bill Fleming)

Their precision and cohesion as an ensemble were perfectly matched by the seamless elisions of the featured solo players each of whom demonstrated not just a generous mastery of their instrument but a profoundly mature appreciation of the music. This is a band completely absorbed in its work, already (despite its youth) at home with the genre, and very much at ease in each other’s onstage company.

Two pieces stood out for me. The first, Count Basie’s ‘Hay Burner’, was played with such a delight in its subtlety and such command of the humour of the piece that it really was hard to believe these were musicians only at the start of their careers. To end, they gave us Big Band meets the Modern Jazz Quartet with a sublime arrangement of Lennon and McCartney’s lovely ‘Norwegian Wood’. I’ve been whistling it all week.

It wasn’t just the sneakers and jeans and the cool-dude shirts which lent the Macphail a touch of New York’s Lincoln Center on the night. These guys (and one girl) played like Yankee old hands. They wha-whaed like the best, and clearly enjoyed every syncopation, every tempo rise, every subtle shift of mood. Hell, a couple of ‘em even looked like Buddy Holly! All that was missing was a dry, dry martini.

It is invidious to highlight soloists in such a small outfit (there were seventeen musicians on stage) and when all are so accomplished, but I can’t resist particular mention of Ruaridh Pattison (alto saxophone) – make a note of that name because it’ll be household one day – and Kieran McLeod (trombone) whose delight in their own skills never got in the way of masterly performances or attempted to overshadow the brilliance of the rest.

And now I feel I have to mention the others by name because each brought a necessary presence to the whole, from Young Musician of the Year Peter Johnstone on piano, to Joe Williamson (guitar) and Brodie Jarvie on acoustic double bass. John Lowrie was mesmerically restrained and beat-perfect on drums. The four trumpets were led by John Woodham whose solo playing raised the hairs on the back of your neck; and among the trombones was 15 year-old Liam Shorthall who played like a Cotton Club veteran!

I’m guessing that alto sax players never have to work too hard to get girlfriends (or boyfriends). I mean, how sexy is that instrument? Even in its case! Heather McIntosh was an unsung hero(ine) of the evening on baritone saxophone quietly getting on with the occasional oom-pah, and combining in those strident chords, and still managing to maintain a country smile through the entire performance.

Tommy Smith’s direction appears to be the ultimate in laid-back, but the hours in rehearsal are apparent from the complete engagement of every member of the Orchestra. OK, so you weren’t there, and your applause will never be heard on the live recording they’re making of this 10th anniversary tour, but you can get a flavour of what you missed on Emergence, the Orchestra’s latest CD which is out now on Spartacus Records. You could mix yourself that dry martini at home, before you sit to listen.

A date for your diary, too: the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, directed by Tommy Smith, will be at Eden Court on 28 October.

© Stephen Keeler, 2012

Links

• TSYJO

THE annual separation of the string and wind sections of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra has become a well-established part of the summer music calendar in the Highlands.

WHILE the Strings took themselves off to Killin, Fortrose and Ullapool, the Winds and Brass visited Banchory and Birnam on either side of this concert in Boat of Garten. The Community Hall in the village, completed in 2007, has an acoustic ideally suited to their instruments, although one that is equally unforgiving of any lapses in intonation or ensemble precision.

Needless to say, no such flaws were revealed to the full house in the course of a well-conceived programme which gave opportunities to showcase not only the individual virtuosity of the players, but also the chamber music-like cooperation of their (conductor-less) ensemble playing.

The music of Eastern Europe was paramount, with two pieces from eminent Russian composers arranged by trumpeter Peter Franks, and another by a less well-known Hungarian that was the surprise delight of the evening. Mozart’s Serenade, K388, in the unusual key of C minor, completed the programme.

They opened with four dances for Prokofiev’s music for Cinderella, colourfully arranged for the full fourteen-strong group, with the addition of percussionist Kate Openshaw. The four chosen segments – ‘Introduction’, the humorous gallumphing of ‘Dancing Lesson’, the elegant ‘Spring & Summer Fairies’ and the boistrous ‘Pas de Shawl’, provided a vibrant start to the evening.

Mozart’s Serenade employed smaller forces, but made its customary impact. The SCO’s Mozart playing is generally of the highest quality, and this piece – with its unusually sombre undercurrent for a Serenade – was no exception.

Hungarian composer Mátyás Seiber made his main reputation as a composer of film music and a distinguished teacher, but if the Serenade for Six Wind Instruments is typical of his concert output, then his work deserves to be heard more often. Written for a competition in 1926, it drew on the fascination with indigenous folk music then active in Hungary.

The score called for paired clarinets, horns and bassoons, and Seiber’s impressive handling of the melodic and rhythmic possibilities of the material also drew out some fascinating musical timbres and textures from the instruments.

The full ensemble returned to the stage for the final work, the Polovtsian Dances from Borodin’s Prince Igor, again arranged by Franks, and if anything even more energetic and colourful than the Prokofiev excerpts. They returned to that work for an encore in the shape of a fifth excerpt, Cinderella’s slightly melancholic waltz prior to her going to the ball.

Review by K Mathieson