Sunday 5 July 2020

MUSIC REVIEW: The Royal Scottish National Orchestra's St. Andrew's Day Celebration - The Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow.


The last in the extended series of online concerts from The Royal Scottish National Orchestra was actually my favourire of all the ones I've been able to watch. Recorded at The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in November 2016, it was their St. Andrew's Day Celebration with special guests.

Opening the concert and playing with the orchestra, under conductor John Logan, was The National Youth Pipe Band Of Scotland. Fond memories and heimweh flooded over me and I became quite emotional. They played a lovely lyrical tune called 'The Youngest Ancient Mariner' (Farewell To Govern), and it was just delightful.

After that and we welcomed Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain to the stage. Obviously well-known in Scotland, and despite being born in Oban, I have to admit, after living in Sassenach-land for so long, I had no knowledge of the duo at all. However, they are a Scottish folk duo who compose and play their own Scottish music such as airs, jigs and reels. Cunningham is on the fiddle, and Bain plays the accordeon. Together with full orchestral accompaniment the pair led the rest of the concert, and the music was toe-tappingly, refreshingly, danceable and hummable, and once again I wished I were back north o' the border!

They started their set with an energetic jig, 'Kid On The Mountain', and took us on a musical tour of not just Scotland, but also neighbouring Emerald Isle, Ireland too (the slow air, 'Irish Beauty'), and finished the evening off with some more energetic and uplifting jigs, 'The Full Circle Jigs'. In between this their muisc was bringing back many happy recollections of my informative years on the rugged west coast. They also brought on a guest singer to sing along a couple of songs with them. She was Eddi Reader and the folk songs were nicely interpreted. (credit also goes to the backing singer Julie Fowlis who created some nice female harmony).

Playing alongside the orchestra and the duo were 5 final year students from The Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland, ameliorating the authentic folk music sound by playing fiddles, pipes and whistles.

The whole concert finished with a lovely full-company rendition of Auld Lang Syne, which to my mind should also have included The National Youth Pipe Band on stage too, but sadly they didn't make an appearance. The only disappointment in the whole concert.

Beannachdan à Sasainn agus tapadh leibh uile

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 5/7/20


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