@doricloon
National Theatre of Scotland presents - Long Gone Lonesome - A Musical Celebration of the Life of Thomas Fraser -
Who would have thought that this could ever happen? But it is and it should be celebrated! Get along to one of the shows if you can.
View thw trailer for the production at -
http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp?page=s549
And for more details of the tour dates visit -
http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp?page=home_LongGoneLonesome
Long Gone Lonesome Written by Duncan McLean
Directed by Vicky Featherstone
Featuring the Lone Star Swing band
Long Gone Lonesome tells the story of Thomas Fraser. The Shetlander with two lives. By day fisherman, father and islandman, by night world class innovator in American country and roots music.
Thomas was dedicated to his art, mastering the styles of his heroes - like pioneering country singer Jimmie Rodgers, America's Blue Yodeller - and making their songs his own.
Using all his hard earned money from the sea, he bought the first Grundig reel to reel, creating ground-breaking self made multi-tracked recordings, which he gave to close friends as gifts. His modesty stopped them travelling any further.
Thomas died in 1978, at the age of 50, following an accident at sea. His immense shyness meant only a handful of people had ever seen him perform. His tapes were more or less forgotten for a quarter of a century until his grandson realised their importance and started the slow process of restoring them and transferring them to CD. The first modest release ignited a blaze of interest in Thomas and his music.
Three more CDs have followed as well as a festival in his honour, plaudits from critics and scholars around the world, a documentary - and now this musical telling of his story.
‘I've written a script that aims to tell Thomas's story, and to convey the essence of the music he loved and performed with so much passion. Produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and directed by the Company’s own Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone - it's not a play as such. Instead, the show will be a mix of storytelling, music and what you might call dramatic jam sessions with games, improvisations, tall tales, exaggerations, musical explorations and heartfelt personal confessions disguised as jaunty novelty numbers.’ Duncan McLean, July 2009
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Interesting piece from The Herald by Rob Adams on Blair Douglas's new composition An Aifreann Ghaidhlig (A Gaelic Mass), which opens the Blas 2009 celebrations of Highland culture at Inverness Cathedral tomorrow on Friday 04 September 2009.
Read the Rob Adams piece in the Herald:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.2528811.0.Ive_still_to_hear_the_finished_version_of_my_Mass.php
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Michael Marra has written the forward to Andy Hall and Francis Boag's new book " The Mearns Distilled" - A painter and photographer's inspiration.
The Mearns in Kincardineshire has indeed provided inpiration for Francis Boag, the painter and Andy Hall, the photographer. There are some wonderful images contained in the book including a photograph of a newly ploughed field covered in mist. Michael lyric's for "Happed In Mist" completes the picture. The Mearns
Distilled is also dedicated to James Leslie Mitchell (Lewis Grassic Gibbon). A beautifully designed booked with images, words and lyrics all inpired by The Mearns.
The book is available to buy online
at -
< http://www.andyhallphotography.com/homepage.htm >
or
< http://www.francisboag.com/ >
Enjoy
Rob Adam's review from today's Herald
Robert Burns's Worldly Friends, The Hub
Robert Burns was an intelligent, creative man who enjoyed the company of like minds, nay visionaries ,who in Edinburgh-based Italian tenor Pietro Urbani's case, anticipated the advent of the silent movie and, as James Gilchrist's interpretation of Allan Ramsay's The Tippling Philosophers implied, foretold of The Laughing Policeman.
Urbani's The Ever Memorable Battle of Bannockburn, slipped in here as waggish retaliation for EIF's opening celebration of Culloden, was the centrepiece of this final Caledonia Session.
A musical, almost blow-by-blow enactment, with much amusingly breathless playing and swashbuckling bow-wielding, it seemed tailor-made for Rudolph Valentino as Robert the Bruce and offered Michael Marra, as the marvellously sceptical narrator, the chance to mark his card for the Vivian Stanshall role should Mike Oldfield ever consider a Scottish remake of Tubular Bells.
Marra's craggy tones and superbly timed oratory have found him a growing number of speaking parts in recent times - who can forget his delivered from on high' psalm recitation in Martyn Bennett's Liberation? - but his restriction here to readings and only two songs seemed like another of this series' missed opportunities.
The songs chosen suited Gilchrist more, of course, and he sang well, just as the ensemble played the works of Burns's German cellist friend Christoph Schetky and Francesco Geminiani, whose inclusion was a little more obscure, with skill and attention to detail.
However, Marra's opening O a' the Airts and his closing Green Grow the Rashes, which almost induced a full-scale singalong, simply whetted the appetite to hear more of this most distinctive voice working with the musicians at hand on further music from the period in question.
Also visit David McGuinness's blog at -
http://www.concal.org/diary.htm
for a blow by blow account and pictures of the gigs
The new Thomas Fraser CD"Just Call Me Lonesome" is available for pre order. Due for release on 11 November2010. Rare cover!
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For those Marra fans who missed this wee gem first time round A Wee Home From Home tour dates are begining to appear. Michael performs the music and songs live including Mother Glasgow set in it's original and true context.
"Returning to Glasgow Frankie knocks on a door to find no one home. With time on his hands he wanders the streets of his past and is swept up in the ensuing roller coaster of memories and emotions.
Twenty-one years after this gem of a show first played to full houses and immense public acclaim, plan B have reunited the original creative team to bring A Wee Home From Home to a new generation.
Performed by Michael Marra and Frank McConnell, the duo creates a double act full of warmth and charm with undertones of menace. Using an eclectic mix of raw live music, inspired, high-octane choreography and powerful theatricality, the show opens Scotland to its own wounds while celebrating a vibrant and indomitable spirit with pathos and a huge dose of humour."
Check out Plan B's website for more information and full tour dates -
http://www.planbcreative.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=106
With the rehearsals under way for the return of Plan B's production of A Wee Home From Home visit the wee website dedicated to the show. It has the tour dates, photos, news, reviews, audio and video clips. Everything in fact to make your enjoyment of this unique and powerful show even better.
Visit A Wee Home From Home for all the information on Plan B's production
A review from today's Scotsman of The Bongo Club gig -
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Live-review-McFall39s-ChamberMichael-Marra.5053929.jp
Me I thought it was rare!!!