Artist:Julie Fowlis
Venue:The Gala Theatre
Town:Durham
Date:17/05/09
Website:www.myspace.com/juliefowlis
Having only been to The Gala Theatre in Durham once before , some time ago, it was a pleasure to be reminded what a lovely venue it is, not to mention to see it almost at capacity, with people of a mixture of ages, for a night of music which may by some be considered somewhat of an acquired taste.
Julie Fowlis is from North Uist, out in the Western Isles of Scotland and sings only in Gaelic. Having seen her open for Beth Nielsen Chapman a year or so ago I was intrigued as to how a whole set would sound. Currently she is touring in support of new album Clàr ùr (Dual), her latest collection of traditional folk tunes. Taking to the stage with her four man band, which comprises Irish husband and bouzouki player Eamonn Doorley, bodhran player Martin O'Neill, her guitarist and fiddler Duncan Chisholm. Together, they make the art of creating Gaelic music appear incredibly easy. Also striking was the variety of instruments Fowlis herself plays with apparent ease. This was especially true when she played the tin whistle, her fingers literally flying over the holes like a wildfire.
Explaining that there was no need to worry if we didn't understand what she was singing (in fact it's assumed that only 60,000 people in the world speak Gaelic) - "most people don't." They launched into a sad song, joking that they love to start with the happy ones. Next came my personal favourite, Hug air a' Bhonaid Mhoir, the opening track from the Cuilidh (which translates as Sanctuary) CD
Together, Julie and the band kept things varied and alternated between up and downbeat tunes selecting songs from pieces from her albums Cuilidh and As My Heart Is, also a song she wrote for her cousin's wedding, her recent cover of The Beatles' Blackbird, translated to gaelic and recorded for a recent Mojo CD and a tune in the language of Breton, another little-known Celtic language which she was asked to perform at a festival in Brittany. It is clear that Fowlis feels an affinity to the Breton language and enjoyed the opportunity to translate the song into Gaelic to deepen this connection. Lon-dubh was the product of this project, and with it they really have made a well known song their own.
The banter between them all on stage was light and often amusing, especially as they tried to to outdo each other with a wide variety of Irish and Scottish traditional tunes and reels, some of which were so fast it almost made your head hurt!
I was surprised at how much Eamonn spoke from the stage during the performance, which seemed a little unusual since it was Julie's show. She does give the impression of being a little more shy when she isn't doing what she does best, so maybe that is why. On the flip side, it is pleasant to see everyone involved and a part of what is going on.
Explaining that she likes to speak some Gaelic at shows also, she told us about a recent show in Milwaukee, USA, where someone commented that this was a nice touch but he'd have liked her to speak some English. I guess that whilst most of us present enjoyed listening to her speak with her deep Scottish accent, we could also forgive him his mistake.
Audience participation was called for during Uist I love You, where she endeavoured to teach us the title line in Gaelic so we could join in, eventually accepting, 'Well, close enough....there are about 84 verses so you might get it by the end.' It struck me that the line is actually easier to sing than to say.
Other standout tracks included a song about 'two men who are sick on a boat ' - was I the only one to feel glad of not understanding the lyrics?, a song her grandfather had given to her,in which her voice was used more like an instrument and a song which it emerged is about attempted murder.
Allowing them to shine for a short while, Julie encouraged Duncan and her guitarist to take the spotlight where he performed a gorgeous tune written by none other than Phil Cunningham whilst they were on their 'alcoholidays' in San Sebastain, Spain. It has a distinct European sound, clearly no coincidence.
Returning for an encore, Martin O'Neill took the solo spot to play the bohdran; whilst this was enjoyable at first, as he played using a paintbrush, harking back to the roots of music, it went on for far too long in my opinion.
Julie and the rest of the band returned to the stage, where she amazed us all by not only carrying but playing a set of bagpipes almost as big as she is, for the final number. Despite accentuating her pixie like stature, Julie actually played them with no apparent difficulties, surely a talent in itself!
As they left the stage a final time to thunderous applause, it was obvious that a great evening had been had. I have to admit to being a little disappointed though. Why? Well, for my part, Julie Fowlis has a truly beautiful, haunting voice, and I felt a little cheated that we hadn't heard a lot of it. We seemed to hear more jigs and reels, which whilst enjoyable, aren't after all, Julie singing. That said, when Julie did sing, it was another lovely reminder that we do not need to understand the lyrics to enjoy good music, which can more than speak for itself.
Helen Mitchell
No comments:
Post a Comment