Maeve Mackinnon: RememberedImagined #1

It is 11pm in Glasgow. I’ve just come in from a 7hr rehearsal in Edinburgh for “Remembered-Imagined” and despite being knackered I’m still not finished for the day as we just got tomorrow’s project scores through.
Today was spent rehearsing a beguiling piece of storytelling in Gaelic, dug out of the archives of the School of Scottish Studies and set to music by Amble Skuse. Having been concentrating on this 9 page composition for the last week, the first word that sprang to mind was, “HELP”. The piece is intricately detailed with frequent use of time signature and key changes; the vocal opera-like. It somehow didn’t occur to me until midway through my learning that the vocal’s role is purely to mimic the rise and falls in the very particular accent of a South Uidhisteach. Genius. Combined with the privilege of working alongside Aonghas Pàdruig Caimbeul and the McFalls Chamber Orchestra, Amble’s piece is surely one of the most innovative and inspirational methods of composition I have ever encountered. I can’t wait to hear it and rehearse it further. My only hope for tomorrow is that the music be kinder on my poor fried brain…

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25/01/14

photo: Martin Forry

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