***** (5 stars)
“What a joy! “
In the middle of turbulent times, an hour’s music in the quietly brilliant acoustic of Northesk church was more than welcome – it was a gift beyond price.
Canadian guitarist Tim Beattie began his programme with Philip Glass’s Partita. Originally written for solo double bass, Tim arranged this group of pieces for guitar. I always think I hate Philip Glass’s music, and then come across something I really like – an object lesson in not judging a book by its cover, eh? The guitar’s wonderful warm tone and resonant bass sang through music that started off sounding amazingly Spanish – but then weirdnesses crept in in the harmonies [rather as in Poulenc’s songs]; there were pauses, as though the composer had had a sudden thought interrupting the flow of notes; quietly reflective passages; gentle quirkiness. The whole work was full of surprises and a delight to listen to.
We were then invited simply to relax and let the next three sets of pieces wash over us – which we were more than happy to do. Dances by seventeenth century Spanish composer Gaspar Sanz, pieces from Scottish lute music manuscripts, and four ‘Shakespearean pieces’ for lute from the time of Elizabeth I of England, flowed over us in a gleaming stream. Tim used his capo to shorten his guitar’s strings and produce a sound more like that of a lute – quieter, gentler, still clear but also slightly muffled: dance music for smaller, more intimate rooms.
The Spanish dances were delightful: lively, stately, and with some very interesting rhythmic oddities. The Scottish ones were instantly recognisable as coming from a wide-open misty landscape, with a sub-text of melancholy and longing – with some really extraordinary chords towards the end. As Tim said, hard to believe they were written four hundred years ago… The English dances which followed were more flowing and comfortable, still with moments of melancholy: and the wonderful Dowland Sick tune, in which melody and accompaniment twined gorgeously round each other, brought back memories of long-ago singing Dowland songs with my lutenist friend.
The final piece in Tim’s recital was JS Bach’s Prelude, fugue and allegro, BWV 998. This might have been written for the lute [though the music goes beyond the instrument’s range] or possibly for the lautenwerck, a keyboard instrument with a lute-like body, whose strings were plucked rather than hammered. Whichever is the case, the piece has been appropriated by guitarists – and it’s easy to see why, as it’s a phenomenal work which gives the guitarist the opportunity to display their talents to the full. Back with the full, rich guitar sound, the prelude was architecture made visible; the fugue’s simple theme became a multi-layered, joyful creation, with melodies wrapping themselves around each other and then joining together in chordal passages; the allegro was a burst of merry, rippling joy, singing loudly and then quietening into shining pianissimo passages.
The conclusion of the Bach brought a storm of applause from the audience, who didn’t want to let Tim go. His encore was sublime – I have no idea what it was but it moved me deeply: the long silence after the piece concluded indicates that everyone else felt exactly the same.
My notes say hold it against your heart and sing through it – and this is exactly what Tim Beattie did with his guitar this lunchtime. I hope he comes to the Brunton again soon – if he does, I’ll be there!
Tim Beattie, guitar, Music at the Brunton: lunchtime concerts, Northesk church, Musselburgh, RUN ENDED
Next month: Ryan Corbett, accordion, Tuesday 11 November 1pm for more information go to: https://thebrunton.online.red61.co.uk/event/2814:600/2814:885/
ScotsGay Arts 