Songs of a Celtic Age
St Michael’s Church, 1 Slateford Road - 17/09/22
A gem of a concert which should have been in the Festival.
This was my thought at the end of the excellent concert staged by Brian Bannatyne-Scott with Beth Taylor, accompanied by Hamish Brown on the piano. Firstly with Brian and Beth in superb voice and an excellent accompaniment by Hamish it was of international festival quality. Secondly it was celebrating the work of Scots poets and composers, something the Festival singularly failed to do - unless you count Alan Cummings’ attempt to interpret Burns which received a mixed critical response. As I pointed out in an earlier article in the Edinburgh Music Review part of the mission of the Edinburgh Festival is to bring the best of Scottish culture to the world, something which it often fails to do. This concert did precisely that and delighted the small but appreciative audience in St Michael’s Church. I shall be sending this review to our new festival director Nicola Benedetti, who as the first ever Scottish director of the festival in 75 years will I’m sure be keen to increase the Scottish contribution to the festival. She could hardly do better than hire Brian and Beth to repeat this concert.
I of course should begin by declaring an interest. Brian Bannatyne-Scott, as well as being a retired opera singer of international quality, is one of our best critics on the Edinburgh Music Review. He is also a friend. However this would not deter me from offering a critical review if it were necessary. I have listened to Brian singing for over 10 years and despite his disability which has put an end to his operatic career, his voice is as good as it was 10 years ago. It is a rich resonant bass with lovely colour and texture which he can turn to humorous delivery very easily, and this was fully used tonight.
Brian was accompanied by Beth Taylor a fine young Scottish mezzo-soprano who Brian himself introduced to the Edinburgh Music Review in an article last year and then organised a lovely concert (‘Songs of Edinburgh’) with her last year on the fringe of the festival. Beth since her graduation from the Conservatoire in Glasgow has been singing all over Europe and is getting rave reviews, including singing in Deutsche Opera’s Ring Cycle in Berlin and recently in Glyndebourne’s ‘Alcina’. Sadly, Scottish Opera has not yet booked her for any roles which seems to me a clear oversight but as in other areas of cultural life Scottish artists are often passed over for international performers who are often not as good. Let’s hope this doesn’t continue to happen to Beth. In my judgement the quality, the colour, the range of the voice compares well with Karen Cargill, Scotland’s leading soprano, and I predict Beth is going to be a big star in the future.
Brian and Beth were wonderfully accompanied by Hamish Brown on the piano who has already established himself as an international star accompanist since leaving the Royal College of Music in 2016. Tonight in what must have been largely new material to him he gave a very sensitive accompaniment.
The programme itself was well balanced beginning with the very dark traditional song, ‘The Twa Corbies’, arranged by Francis George Scott, sung by Brian and Beth together, although interestingly Brian sounded more in the folk tradition in his delivery whereas Beth was more in the classical lieder style of delivery. Now both approaches are valid and indeed later in the programme Beth sang ‘Annie Laurie’, often sung as a traditional Scots song, even a pub song, in a very classical style. Beth admitted she could sing it either way and of course both are legitimate. Lady John Scott, who wrote it, no doubt sang it in the drawing rooms of the upper class, whilst it soon became a favourite in the pubs of Scotland. This duality of Scottish musical culture is an important part of Scottish musical life and both should be celebrated. Scottish traditional music, what we know as folk music is a vital part of Scottish culture and is known all over the world. That’s why it was so sad that the Edinburgh Festival after doing an excellent job showcasing it last year almost totally neglected it this year. Let’s hope Nicola Benedetti, who understands both cultures, makes it a central feature of the festival.
Brian sang a group of three more songs by Francis George Scott, including a fine poem by Hugh MacDiarmid, ‘The Eemis Stane’, and ended the first half with a spirited rendition of the ‘Ballade of Good Whisky’ which has the splendid refrain, ‘Glenfiddich, Bruichladdich and Glen Grant’. Personally, I’m more of a Lagavulin and Laphroaig man, but sadly St Michael’s was dry at the interval!
Beth began the second half by singing five arrangements of poems by the great Orkney poet George Mackay Brown, set to music by Claire Liddell. I remember meeting George with Angus Calder in the Blue Blazer and I do remember whisky was taken then! Brian then sang three songs by Ronald Stevenson based on three poems by MacDiarmid from his ‘Hymn to Lenin’. Brian in his articles and recordings has done much to promote the work of Ronald Stevenson and these songs are well worth remembering. Beth sang two lovely songs by James Macmillan and the programme ended with a selection from ‘Songs of Edinburgh’ by Tom Cunningham, based on the texts by Alexander McCall Smith, which Brian and Beth recorded last year after their concert. These included Jenner’s Tearoom a tribute to the blue rinsed ladies of Morningside who sadly no longer have Jenner’s to meet in.
Brian, Beth and Hamish got a great response from the audience and gave us an encore of another of the Songs of Edinburgh. It was a splendid concert. Let’s hope that next year it’s in the festival programme!
