Associate Principal Oboe Katy MacKintosh continues her collaboration with Shetland musicians this weekend, following Orchestra’s successful visit to Shetland last March. She will perform two concerts with acclaimed Shetland musicians Maurice Henderson and Margaret Scollay, as well as her father, pianist Graeme MacKintosh. Katy sent us this blog.
Our Friday concert was some 30 miles from Lerwick, in Busta House – a 16th century Scottish mansion with a long, low-ceilinged drawing room. In this rather intimate setting, we felt a direct connection with the audience.
Our Saturday concert was in the glorious Boat Hall of Lerwick Museum and Archives, surrounded by Shetland history and culture, and alongside the last surviving sixareen – an open six-oared fishing boat which was once key to Shetland's deep sea fishing industry and is of poignant relevance to items in our programme. Behind us, through an impressive wall of glass, was the small boat harbour of Hay's Dock. In this setting Spondrift – our specially written music interspersed with poetry and prose of the sea – could hardly fail to make its mark, and it was clear from the faces of the audience that they were following us closely. Long and enthusiastic applause confirmed the success of the project, and we retired to The Lounge, where fiddles and guitar (taken down from pegs on the wall) and oboe and piano entertained the Saturday night drinkers with foot stompin' reels until well after midnight. Despite this, I am pleased to report that I was up early on Sunday for a two hour run on the hills (others will confirm), before setting off at 09:45 for our flight back to Edinburgh.
We were very sorry to leave. Shetland is a special place, suffused with music, and it is in the nature of the people to keep their music very much alive.
Associate Principal Oboe Katy MacKintosh continues her collaboration with Shetland musicians this weekend, following Orchestra’s successful visit to Shetland last March. She will perform two concerts with acclaimed Shetland musicians Maurice Henderson and Margaret Scollay, as well as her father, pianist Graeme MacKintosh. Katy sent us this blog.
Today [Thursday] started with a wonderful run at Culswick on Shetland's west side. There's a dramatic valley here, where the hills rise steeply on either side. We came upon a small Methodist chapel, built in 1893, with an old harmonium on which we played the Psalm I wrote for our concerts. It felt like we were bringing it home.
Then on to the Culswick broch, which is perched on the top of cliffs and remains remarkably intact despite being battered by the winds. The cottage lying below is built from stones plundered from the broch and, in contrast, lies in ruins.
Our rehearsal tonight went well. I now spend less time thinking about how to play in a Shetland idiom, and am simply enjoying the experience of playing together.
Gale force nine winds are forecast for later tonight. If this were at home, it would be time to batten down the hatches – in Shetland it's no big deal. The record wind speed recorded here was 177mph – just before the measuring equipment blew away!
Associate Principal Oboe Katy MacKintosh continues her collaboration with Shetland musicians this weekend, following Orchestra’s successful visit to Shetland last March. She will perform two concerts with acclaimed Shetland musicians Maurice Henderson and Margaret Scollay, as well as her father, pianist Graeme MacKintosh. Katy sent us this blog.
Last night [Wednesday] we were rehearsing until midnight, and our concert is gradually taking shape. We are enjoying working together with Margaret Scollay and Maurice Henderson and are developing a good relationship in performance. The second half of the concert is the main focus, with our original compositions inspired by the poetry and prose of the sea around these islands. The first half is a more general tour of Scottish traditional music. By now our heads are full of Shetland fiddle music, and I am trying to develop a technique on oboe that takes account of the idioms of the Shetland fiddle.
The landscape is constantly decorated with rainbows. Maurice tells us that there is less rain in Shetland than in Glasgow. A major factor must surely be the wind ushering along the showers. In a strong wind, drops of rain feel like hailstones. Building standards are high here, with structures tied down to survive the severest of winter storms. Maurice talks enthusiastically about the sights and sounds of the Aurora Borealis, which has a keen following in these islands.
Associate Principal Oboe Katy MacKintosh continues her collaboration with Shetland musicians this weekend, following Orchestra’s successful visit to Shetland last March. She will perform two concerts with acclaimed Shetland musicians Maurice Henderson and Margaret Scollay, as well as her father, pianist Graeme MacKintosh. Katy sent us this blog.
A 30-seater bus arrived at the house to take me to the airport. It seemed like overkill – perhaps they thought that all the orchestra were going, as before.
Our flight left on time, or slightly early. A higher tone was attached to this flight, something of a feeling of community. A great view of the Forth Bridges as we left behind the drizzle and flew into clearer conditions. With a backing wind, we reached Sumburgh 20 mins early and used that time on the drive north to visit the 12th century St Ninian's Kirk at Bigton. Here a local schoolboy unearthed the remains of a wooden box containing 28 pieces of Pictish silver. All that we discovered was an odd small pile of bones on an ancient grave, covering a 5p coin and commemorating a superstitious visitor. Some stunning scenery here – I am glad I brought my camera.
Just time for a quick food shop and a bowl of pasta, then on to a highly productive rehearsal. This was the first time that we had put together the efforts of both groups. Initially we had no idea what would come of it but at the end of four hours we were all in agreement that it had been a productive and stimulating evening. The basis of a good concert. This was my first time composing – a Reel entitled "Steamin' Oot" and a "Psalm" written for oboe, two fiddles and piano.
Water and wind are ever present. We are rarely out of view of the sea. The rain showers are ushered along in a strong southerly wind. Our accommodation is high on a moor above Lerwick and a wind turbine adjacent to the house provides our electricity. Whether this will continue to be the case remains to be seen, as it was in the process of being dismantled and repaired on Tuesday morning...
The RSNO's Burra Bear
This gorgeous Burra Bear – named Yunson 'o' Houllenscord – was
gifted to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra by Shetland Arts, on the
behalf of the people of Shetland, as a memento of our time on the
Islands during our Out and About week in March 2012 (read more about the week in our Shetland Out and About blog post, here).
Each unique Burra Bear is handmade by Wendy Inkster on East Burra, Shetland, created from pure Shetland wool and feature the famously distinctive Fair Isle knitting patterns.
We've all fallen in love with Yunson and over the coming months and we're hoping to introduce him to every aspect of life and work with
the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, which you'll see recorded in this blog.
See some more of Yunson's adventures on our Pinterest board.
