Celtic Connections: True North Orchestra review

Jan 19 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THE Celtic Connections Festival has built a reputation for breaking down barriers over its 17 spectacular years of bringing mid-winter cheer to Glasgow, and its opening concert in the city’s Royal Concert Hall on Thursday certainly celebrated a mixed marriage between traditional and classical musicians.

The ground-breaking 42-strong True North Orchestra was conceived and constructed by composer/producer/percussionist Jim Sutherland who hand-picked his folk/classical musicians and wisely put the baton in the able hands of Greg Lawson – a pioneer in crossing musical boundaries in Scotland.

This wedding party spilled over to Perth Concert Hall on Saturday, where a slightly different programme was performed.

The Celtic Connections’ opening concert repertoire was, unfortunately, something of a stuttering mish-mash with technical gremlins interrupting the flow of the evening. Had the concert been given over solely to the wonderful sound produced by the True North Orchestra, a more comfortable evening would surely have been had by all.

As it was, there was a jarringly annoying MC, a regular departure and arrival of musicians, a lack of cohesion to the programme and embarrassed inane chatter while gremlins were attended to.

Also, the fact that this festival opener had attracted a relatively small audience led to a lack of atmosphere appropriate for the occasion.

There is, however, a healthy future for such concerts, if only audiences from both camps can throw away their blinkers and appreciate that variety is indeed the spice of life, especially if served up by such an impressive collection of superb musicians.

There is also the need for the sound guys to ensure vocalists are not swamped by the power of the musicians, as was the case with Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes.

The best parts of the evening were the colourful, multi-layered pieces composed by Jim Sutherland and beautifully performed by the orchestra, from the exhilarating opener, Tartan Weave, through the drama of Sea Journey to the grandeur and imagery of the challenging new piece, The Shoched Storm, and the blood-stirring The Big Uist.

Interrupting the flow of the evening were short guest slots by several of this year's Celtic Connections’ headline acts, including the effervescent Galician piper Carlos Núñez, Grammy-nominated Irish singer Maura O'Connell and Scottish trio Lau.

But the night belonged to the True North Orchestra and hopefully there will be a great future for this ensemble providing the logistics of getting its members to juggle their busy schedules can be sorted out.

Celtic Connections continues until January 31. View www.celticconnections.com

Alison Anderson