At a packed Glasgow Hydro, the
audience was enthralled with a world premier performance of Martyn Bennett’s, Bothy Culture and Beyond, as part of
Celtic Connections. The GRIT orchestra and was arranged and conducted by Greg Lawson.
Three years ago I went to the Celtic Connections opening concert
Nae Regrets – and what a night it
was! The GRIT orchestra played Martyn
Bennett’s first album (conducted by Lawson). Bennett composed Celtic fusion
music that successfully mixed the old and the new, Celtic traditions along
with electronic techno. He was known as the Techo
Piper with his deadlocks and innovative playing. He sadly died young at 33 from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He performed at Edinburgh Hogmanay and T in the Park.
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| Aerial dancers All or Nothing |
*Lawson
introduced the players and the stage was set for an outstanding performance of
pipes, dance and celebration. He told us, “To
find identity, we need different perspectives (all welcoming Scotland) to find
truth and embrace difference, so both sides are enhanced and everyone is
enriched – an evolution.” As well as
classical and jazz musicians the orchestra featured renowned folk fiddlers -
Duncan Chisholm, Aidan O’Rourke, Chris Stout, Megan Henderson, Sarah Jane
Summers, Charlie McKerron, Eilidh Shaw and Laura Wilkie
This concert
was full of ‘joie de vivre’ and the drama of Scotland’s landscapes, from its
tallest peaks to its rushing waters and in-between the cultural melting pots of
her vibrant cities. Bennet’s music tells of youth, the ancient stone hilltop
Bothys along with the rich cultural voices he inherited from his mother,
folklorist Margaret Bennett.
Many tracks transcended
time and place. The concert began with the sweeping Orcadian Strip the Willow. Then the concert was brought alive visually by aerial dancers
All or Nothing who shimmied on hoops and ropes for Aye. There was
powerhouse brass and Celtic whistles with Shputnik in Glenshiel.
While others tracks had the ‘get up and groove’ to the pipes, such as on Ud the Doudouk.
Fiona Hunter haunting vocals were
followed by the Glasgow
chapel choir, who were eerily ethereal on Blackbird,
when ancient voices met contemporary vibes. At this point stunt cyclist Danny
MacAskill rode on his mountain bike around a track laid out around the arena,
and then on the Skye mountain backdrop behind the stage. (His ride of the Black Cuillin Ridge Skye, is sound tracked by
Bennett’s Blackbird , 55m Views YouTube).
On the moving track Hallaig, Sorley Maclean’s poem was read by the actor David
Hayman -
“A wood
going up beside the stream, Heartbreak of the tale.”
The crowd in
the Hydro were all ages and danced and sang along to Bennett’s life-enhancing
music. The set closed with the drama of the lone piper Finlay Macdonald for
Waltz by Hector.
Bennett
challenged the norms – with whistles, brass, electronic beats and his chanter.
There were several web kent faces in the crowd Well done to all the talented
performers and to Bennett himself. This was the biggest
audience I’ve seen at Celtic Connections and festival director Donald Shaw says he wants to focus
on more larger scale productions.
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| Niteworks |
**Skye
outfit Niteworks played a blistering
set of electronica meets Gaelic
voice to open the concert - hypnotic. Ruairidh Graham, Allan MacDonald, Christopher Nicolson
and Innes Strachan.
I’ve arrived at venues for sound checks when they
are cold blue, empty – it’s a strange transformation. People gradually start to
arrive – music is played as all changes to the vibrant joy and energy of
reds and oranges. Those hilltops Bothys were like this too - fires were lit, warm drinks were had and
traditional songs were sung. It’s the all embracing warmth of the human
connection and celebration. Why should we remember? Why does it matter? We
live in glossy, shallow times. It’s important
to look beyond – to seek truth.
What really matters in the end. On our journeys,
over sea or land – to pause, to wonder, to seek renewals. To hope.. To seek
shared human joy. ‘Bothy Culture”
Seeking
difference enhances perspective of who we are. ‘
Scotland
does not want to silence ‘other’ voices but to embrace them – while we keep our
rich heritage alive and well and so she sings for all. * I might have wished for
more info on Martin Bennett himself with perhaps clips of him telling his
colourful story in the interval before the GRIT performance.
(Scottish Independence is not about ‘identity’ – rather
how we can embrace our past, have understanding and build a better Scotland for
all.)
1. "Aye?" (6:22)
2. "Shputnik In Glenshiel" (5:50)
3. "Hallaig" (8:19)
4. "Ud The Doudouk" (5:44)
5. "4 Notes" (5:55)
6. "Joik" (3:26)
7. "Yer Man From Athlone" (6:25)
8. "Waltz For Hector" (9:20)
All or Nothing Aerial dance
Vocalist Innes Watson
Fiona Hunter vocals
Sorley Maclean’s poem, read by
actor David Hayman
