Mr McFall’s Chamber: 20 years of musical adventures
From October, Mr McFall’s Chamber are performing five adventurous programmes of music, presenting 20 gigs across the UK and further afield. Four new works have been commissioned to feature in the programmes, alongside a host of unique arrangements and rare gems from across the world.
The programme includes Further Distillations – creative explorations of Scottish artists
Joined on stage by Kate Young and Corrina Hewat
Further Distillations is a programme of new and recent music by a group of composers with a background in traditional music. All highly successful creative artists in their own right, this concert showcases their compositions involving string quartet and bass, and premiered at this year’s Celtic Connections (* * * * The Herald and The Skinny).
For some years Mr McFall’s Chamber has been resident ensemble for Distil, a pioneering course run by Hands Up For Trad which offers top level tutoring from eminent composers across jazz, classical and other musical styles, alongside opportunities to have new works performed.
Having been privileged to give first performances of many wonderful new works at Distil Showcase events, Mr McFall’s Chamber are here selecting a ‘further distillation’ from those programmes, as well as fermenting a new batch of compositions from three selected composers – Corrina Hewat, Gillian Fleetwood and Kate Young.
‘McFall’s dissolve all pomp from your classic chamber concert: easy stage chat, a giggling audience and a decisive lack of anything vaguely black tie.’ The Skinny, reviewing Celtic Connections in 2015 Mr McFall’s Chamber strings with Rosenna East (violin), Simon Smith (piano), Corrina Hewat (harp) and Kate Young (vocals and fiddle)
- Making the Connection 1 Corrina Hewat
- Breathing In Quoyloo Corrina Hewat (new work)
- Wing’d Entropy Kate Young
- Vata Kate Young
- Lament for John McGann Hamish Napier
- Craft part 2 Gillian Fleetwood
- The Black Isle Corrina Hewat arr. Robert McFall
- Como Sera? Amble Skuse
- Hospital Gillian Fleetwood (new work)
- Peewits Martyn Bennett
- Borthwick Kate Young
- Rado Muri Rado trad Bulgarian arr Kate Young
- Green and Gold Kate Young arr Robert McFall
A word from Robert McFall, Artistic Director and Founder:
It was in the late evening of Wednesday 20th July 1996 that four of us found ourselves playing a (slightly) off-beat selection of string quartet music to a smoke-filled student audience in an upper room in Edinburgh’s Cowgate. Our subsequent career has twisted and turned, sometimes looping back and sometimes moving on. Certain strands tend to recur, like tango, like Frank Zappa, Henry Purcell and Weather Report, whose music all features in this birthday season. Certain guests keep coming back, certain numbers keep getting repeated, albeit in new instrumentations or arrangements. At the same time composers keep indulging us with new pieces; new projects emerge; new collaborators step out from the shadows.
All will have been for nothing, however, if we have no one with whom to share these musical exploits, which is why I am extending a warm welcome to you all and inviting you to be there to celebrate our twentieth birthday season with us. We, in return, promise to make it as celebratory as we possibly can. Only one more year and we’ll be coming of age – at that point we’ll have to start being sensible, so this is your chance to share with us our last year of irresponsibility.
The full programme:
- Thu 1 October 2015 Peebles Eastgate Further Distillations
- Sun 4 October 2015 Discovery Point, Dundee Island Life – celebrating Caribbean connections
- Mon 5 October 2015 Bolivar Hall, London Viva Tango! performance with the Chilean Consul
- Tue 6 October 2015 King’s Place, London Island Life – celebrating Caribbean connections
- Thu 8 October 2015 Mitchell Library, Glasgow Island Life – celebrating Caribbean connections
- Sun 11 October 2015 Stirling Tolbooth Solitudes – Baltic Reflections
- *Mon 12 October 2015 The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh Solitudes – Baltic Reflections
- Sat 9 Jan 2016 Linlithgow Arts Guild Island Life – celebrating Caribbean connections
- Thu 11 Feb 2016 Cork Orchestral Society Island Life – celebrating Caribbean connections
- Wed 17 February 2016 Stirling Tolbooth All of the Above
- Thu 18 February 2016 The Queen’s Hall Edinburgh All of the Above
- Sat 20 February 2016 Brunton Theatre Musselburgh All of the Above
- Fri 8 April 2016 Stirling Tolbooth Hands Up For Trad Distil Showcase
- Tue 14 June 2016 The Queen’s Hall Edinburgh Maria de Buenos Aires
And in residence at Cottier Chamber Project 2016
*CD and season launch concert
Visit www.mcfalls.co.uk for more information
