Tag Archives: Scottish

Remembering Boxwood Aberdeen

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Scottish Flute Weekend 16-18 Nov 2001: Twenty Years of Scottish Traditional Flute

Malcolm Reavell in Ma Cameron’s snug, Aberdeen. (c) Gordon Turnbull

November 2021 marked twenty years since Boxwood Aberdeen took place, a weekend that sowed the seeds for FluteFling and inspired many others to further explore the flute in Scottish traditional music contexts.

Organised by Malcolm Reavell for Scottish Culture and Traditions, here he describes the background to the event, which was possibly the largest such gathering in Scotland.

Publicity for Skyedance performing and teaching in Banchory

Publicity for Skyedance performing and teaching in Banchory

In 1997, representing Scottish Culture & Traditions organisation (SC&T) I contacted Duncan Hendry who was at the time managing the Aberdeen Alternative Festival (now at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre) to see if he would help us arrange to get Alasdair Fraser’s band Skyedance to run a day of workshops for traditional musicians. The lineup at that time was Alasdair on fiddle, Eric Rigler on pipes, Peter Maund on percussion, Paul Machlis on piano, and as American/ Canadian flute player Chris Norman had joined the band, we could have flute a workshop as well.

The workshop was held on a snowy January day in Banchory Academy. Chris Norman had previously held workshops at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, attended by just a couple of people, so when he walked into the room, he was pleasantly surprised to be confronted by about a dozen flute players.

Flute players in Banchory

Flute players in Banchory. Chris Norman is front row, in white. Malcolm Reavell to the right of him.

Chris advertised the Boxwood week he ran, and so that was where I went for my holidays the next two years – Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It was an inspiring event, and I really wanted to do something like this in Scotland, and I got the chance in 2001. Chris got in touch about coming over to Scotland, I jumped at the chance to try and organise something.

I thought it would be good to try out the format Chris used for Boxwood with three tutors covering different styles and traditions. As well as Chris I invited Eddie McGuire whose reputation as composer as well as flute player appealed to classical flute players, and from Limerick, Niall Keegan, who was pushing the boundaries of traditional Irish flute playing.

Flyer for the Boxwood Aberdeen Weekend

Flyer for the Boxwood Aberdeen Weekend

It was going to cost a bit of money to put on the event. We could not run it for a whole week as Chris did in Lunenburg, but a weekend seemed achievable.

At this time I was still working shifts as an aircraft engineer, so I had days off during the week which I could devote to SC&T (in fact SC&T took up most of my spare time anyway).

I investigated Scottish Arts Council funding and luckily Dave Francis pointed me in the direction of a new funding stream for which few people had applied.

I submitted the grant application and budgeted for about half of the amount I put in the application (that’s kind of normal for such applications). The Scottish Arts Council approved the whole amount. This was not supposed to happen! I had to then revise the programme and remove all the cost saving I had incorporated to use up all the money we were getting (you can’t give it back – you must spend it!).

So… venues for workshops, evening concerts, sessions, accommodation for artists, publicity, leaflets, press releases, flyers, catering,… the machine was set in motion. It wasn’t all plain sailing, I had several weeks, and a few frantic days, sorting out last minute international work permits with the UK Home Office.

Organising it under the SC&T banner gave us access to volunteer resources of the SC&T committee and helpers. The Elphinstone Institute under the auspices of Dr Ian Russell became involved, and Ian gave a talk on the flute bands of NE Scotland. (a photograph of one of the flute bands was used by Chris on his album cover for The Caledonian Flute).

Kenny Hadden helped put out the word to all the flute players we could find in Scotland, and by some magic, we managed to attract participants from the south of England, and one lady (who I had met at Chris’s Boxwood event in Lunenburg) that decided to come all the way from Wisconsin in the US.

The workshops took place in the Aberdeen Foyer. We had an evening concert in Cowdray Hall, and one in the Lemon Tree, and Friday night session in The Globe.

(Left to Right) Chris Norman, Robin Bullock, Niall Keegan, Malcolm Reavell, Dr Ian Russell, Eddie Maguire

The weekend was the first time this number of traditional flute players had gathered in Scotland and acted as inspiration to continue from there. A young Calum Stewart was even in the audience, (although he told me recently, at the time, he didn’t play much flute).

Niall Keegan, Chris Norman and Eddie Maguire performing

I can’t remember how many participants we had at the weekend, (data protection means I no longer have access to enrolment details), but I seem to have the number 45 in my head.

As for names… well, have fun looking through some of these pictures and try putting names to faces, and a video of the weekend was made by Dr Ian Russell and we hope to make some of it available in the future.

Eddie Maguire and the Whistlebinkies with the participants. Notice the animated music stand. (c) Malcolm Reavell

Aberdeen Press and Journal. Some weel kent faces here: Rebecca Knorr (left) and a young Mhairi Hall centre left, Ann Ward just behind them, a young Calum Stewart (partly hidden behind Mhairi), Munro Gauld and Gordon Turnbull (back right). The lady in the Fairisle pattern sweater is Ann Huntoon from Wisconsin. Apologies for not being able to recall other names at present.

Aberdeen City Evening Express a few days later: Kenny Hadden, Rebecca Knorr and Ann Ward front and centre.

A workshop with Chris Norman. Pete Saunders back, right.

Some more faces to spot, this time with Eddie Maguire.

Chris Norman in a workshop

Niall Keegan with a group

The participants at the end of a full day animated and ready to listen to the three tutors.

(c) Malcolm Reavell 2021

FluteFling online with Claire Mann

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The first FluteFling Online event took place in December with a mini-series of workshops led by Claire Mann. The event marked what would have been a weekend event in Aberdeen and attracted a great turn-out, with participants from across the world.

When John Crawford approached me in September and asked what the plans were for the FluteFling Aberdeen Weekend, which usually takes place every November, I confess that my heart sank a little. It was a good question and needed addressing in some way, but it meant that we had to bite the bullet as so many have done and dive into the Online experience.

What did we know about putting on such things? Had we attended any? I personally had shied away from teaching online so didn’t really know what was involved. In addition, so much our working and personal lives are lived online during the pandemic, did we want to spend our spare time wrangling with setups, links and connections? And each of these questions seemed to have others lining up behind them. Wasn’t there online fatigue? Or was that just me?

John has been involved in the FluteFling weekends for many years and has been active in the Aberdeen event too and links up the Aberdeen flute community. He brought in fellow FluteFling supporter Pete Saunders, who has been running the SCaT flute and whistle classes in Aberdeen online this autumn and the technical experience and confidence that was needed. John had also attended a number of online workshops over the summer and had been taking plenty of notes of what worked well.

Over Zoom calls and emails with Sharon Creasey and Kenny Hadden, we realised that it was doable with manageable risks. We quickly identified Claire Mann as a tutor we wanted to involve and with her we were able to shape an event. We all wanted it to be a little different and supportive of those facing the common experience of not being able to meet and play music with others, having to dig deep for inspiration and motivation.

The result was a two-weekend event just towards Christmas. People were unlikely to be going anywhere during the pandemic and we felt that a week between the two workshop days gave people time to work on the material and learning, whatever their commitments. Providing the music and recordings from Claire a week in advance extended the learning focus and we extended it further by including a joint recording project for a video that will be completed soon.

The workshops were timed to be short and focused to avoid fatigue, which meant that they flew by an a lot was packed in as Claire took us through some choices from the online archive of the William Gunn Collection and Shetland reels. The Q&A session became highly technical as Claire responded to questions about rolls, cuts, strikes and alternatives with ease and clarity.

An unexpected development came from those looking to attend from USA and Canada. We had timed the workshops to be either side of lunchtime here in Scotland, but this was still 4 in the morning for some people, or even earlier. To attend at that time was a level of commitment that we hadn’t expected and we responded by recording the workshops and making them available to attendees for several weeks afterwards.

The implication for data protection was a concern and we had to seek consent. However, the way we ran the workshops helped enormously. Pete was a co-host and managed all of the running technical concerns — anchoring the workshops, muting participants and fielding questions through the chat facility. It meant that Claire could focus on the teaching, which was new to her in this setting too. The format was a success and was raised by a few as such in the feedback.

Claire Mann teaching online. Photo: (c) Gordon Turnbull

We were quite unprepared for the response, which was overwhelming. With over 70 participants, this was by far and away our biggest event and has caused us all to positively review future plans, including when we all get back together in person.

As participants began joining in the online session, people recognised each other and began chatting and creating a buzz. We have all seen each other on social media, but here we were again, with new faces coming in, some familiar names that are on our mailing lists but are never able attend. People spoke about the friendliness, as visitors from around the world logged in — from a chilly Niagara Falls to Spain, France and Germany. Meanwhile, Claire was in Newton Stewart, Pete was in Aberdeenshire and I was in Edinburgh. There was a definite community feel that spanned the globe.

The recordings enabled people to revisit the workshops and review the learning but also enabled those in California and Japan to be part of the event. Additionally, some people couldn’t attend all of the workshops or had to change plans at short notice, but didn’t miss out. In a non-online situation (IRL – in real life), these people couldn’t have attended or would have lost money or needed a refund.

Our eyes have been opened and while there is no substitute for an IRL experience, this has proved to be a decent substitute with a lot of potential. We are already in the process of organising our next event and what we continue to learn we will be taking into the regular workshops when they are able to resume. Can they be live-streamed or recorded? Or can they be sit alongside our regular events diary? Maybe, maybe.

In the meantime, look out for the video and also for news of our next event.

 

FluteFling Online December 2020

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Claire Mann to deliver FluteFling Online 12 & 19 December

FluteFling’s first venture into online events takes place in just a week’s time when Claire Mann will deliver four 45 minute workshops on Zoom over two consecutive Saturdays. The response has been terrific but luckily we are not limited by space and places are still available.

Tailored to flute, whistle and low whistle, Claire has helped to shape the workshop mini series to provide a way for people to focus on their music and instrument over three weekends and more. Uploads of Claire’s teaching material — both PDF sheet music and recording — go up this weekend, followed by the workshops themselves, which will be recorded. With time to go over the tunes, work on the ideas and techniques AND revisit the workshops, this is a close but realistic alternative to an immersive weekend away.

Although there won’t be any sessions, there is the additional option of recording some of the material covered by Claire for a group video, to be submitted for compilation by the end of December. That’s almost a month of digging deep into the music after the extended fallow period we all currently have had to endure. The video will be completed and made available later in January, giving us all something to look forward to in 2021.

It promises to be a memorable experience and much needed by many of us traditional musicians. How can you be sure? Well, all of the organisers have all bought tickets — Sharon Creasey, John Crawford, Pete Saunders and Gordon Turnbull.

You can get your ticket on the event page too. We look forward to seeing you there.

 

February Workshop: Calum Sgàire, voice, breath and bow

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The beach at Bosta, Great Bernera, Western Isles, Scotland

Calum Sgàire (Òran Chaluim Sgàire) is a Gaelic love song from Bernera that was the focus of the February workshop in Edinburgh. We also looked at a Swedish tune (Engelska frå Småland) and had fun with Laridé de Portobello.

The story behind the song can be found here. Here’s the rich Bothy Band arrangement of the song, which is the one I am most familiar with, having first heard it in 1982:

Other versions can be readily found too. However, the instrumental version that we focused upon was that by fiddler Alisdair Fraser with Tony McManus on guitar:

Convention holds that the best way to learn a song air is directly from a sung version. This provides an understanding of the lyrics and phrasing that underpins the delivery of a fine narrative. This is important when playing flute or whistle as the breathing and dynamics are able to closely match that of the singer. (The best performances of song airs on flute or whistle are often singers).

The next best way is to learn from a musician who knows the song, but also to have an existing understanding or performance of the song in mind. This provides an anchor to reference. In Alisdair Fraser’s playing, the bow performs the role of the breath and it swells, rises, falls, stops, pulls and pushes the timing to bring out a sense of the story.

Additionally, certain grace notes and articulations lend themselves to the fiddle, much as they do with other instruments, including the voice. We sang along with the song to get a strong sense of the phrasing and inflections and then also to the fiddle version, which was simpler to focus upon due to the simple and sparse arrangement.

I have put a bare bones written version of this in the resources section. The arrangement does attempt to show how to negotiate the phrases that go below the flute range and it should help when referring back to the original.

The question of fingered vibrato (ghost trill, or flattement in Baroque flute parlance) arose and we tried a few ideas out for this. Each flute and whistle will be different and various combinations of fingers will suit different situations. It is worth taking the time to try these out and they aren’t confined to slow airs, but may also appear where notes are held in other tunes too.

The Engelska (a Swedish interpretation of an English dance) I learned from Fun Fiddle in Portobello. We tried out some harmonies and Malcolm Reavell contributed a third one on the spot for his sonorous A flute. Here’s an authentic Swedish version, that shows we were in the ballpark. Note the bowing emphasis, which squeezes and stretches the melody:

The next workshop takes place on Saturday 23 March and will focus on a set of Irish jigs. A recording for this will be sent out in advance.

Look out for the Annual flute and whistle weekend on 26-28 April. Lots of things happening that weekend: workshops, performances and sessions featuring flutes and whistles.

December workshop: of Squirrels and Tatties

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A few of us braved the icy conditions last Saturday to continue the journey of learning tunes aided by a process of internalisation. The Tribe Porty White Hall is far warmer than a couple of years ago, with new heating and insulation in place. And Malcolm brought some mince pies along, which were equally welcome!

A few blind tunes were prepared and all of them had noteworthy names: Hunt the Squirrel and The Droketty March were from the playing of Cran, an Irish band with an active interest in Scottish repertoire that also have flutes, whistles and pipes at their instrumental heart.

These proved to be popular, but everyone was also taken by the performance of Mike Vass and Mairearad Green of Tha ‘m Buntata Mor. So instead of working on a new tune and then repertoire, we learned Hunt the Squirrel and Tha ‘m Buntata Mor. Sheet music and recordings of all three tunes are in the Resources section.

Hunt the Squirrel has a rich history. The Sleeve notes for Cran’s Dally and Stray CD seem to be no longer available online, but a search around sees it associated with Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire.

Tune Archive suggests it is played in England, Scotland, Ireland and USA and first published in Playford’s English Dancing Master, 1689. There it is listed as A New Scotch Jigg, as Scottish music was fashionable in London at that time. It appears in Oswald’s Caledonian Companion in 1760.

Another, possibly later, name for it is The Geud Man of Ballangigh, which seems to be the name of the dance that accompanies it. This fascinating account reveals that The Geud Man was none other than James V in disguise going about his people in Stirling. Although whether that tale was collected by Scott or invented by him is open to question. The dance that accompanies Hunt the Squirrel can be found on YouTube.

Other references associate it with Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire and Kelso, which gives it a good Lowland spread.

Cran play Hunt the Squirrel in quite a stately and unhurried way, which leads nicely into the busier 3-part Drocketty March. The D and G notes sit strongly on flutes and whistles and are helpful for getting the ear into focus.

Tha ‘m Buntata Mor translates as The Potato is Large and appears to be a 9/8 port a beul, as sung by Julie Fowlis here:

Aside: Note that the port Julie Fowlis sings is more like what the Irish call a hop jig, characterised by an underlying long-short note pattern throughout. By comparison, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh‘s following song An Bairille has a more standard slip jig sound featuring quavers grouped in three. Incidentally, if that second sounds familiar, it’s a version of The Rocky Road to Dublin. This set is one they recorded on dual, available as a download here. With fine singing, flutes and whistles and Éamon Doorley and Ross Martin accompanying, it’s one to look out for.

However the arrangement by Mike Vass and Mairearad Green, simply entitled Buntàta, is in the old 3/2 hornpipe time, illustrating the connection between 3/2 and 9/8 tunes. Indeed, their arrangement, as recorded on A Day a Month may have been influenced by that relationship.

In G and Em, the tune sticks closely to an arpeggiated melodic structure, so the rhythm becomes even more important. The close repetition of phrases and unusual time signature lends it a hypnotic and beguiling air that draws the listener in. As in some other 3/2 tunes such as Pawky Adam Glen, the underlying rhythm is a constant:

1-and-2-and-3-and | 1-and-2-and-3-and |

1-and-2-and-3-and | 1-and-2-and-3-and ||

The beat tends to fall most heavily on the 1 and 3, so requires a pulsing breath. 3/2 tunes tend to be punchy but this one can also take a moderate pace, so feel free to take it easy while learning it as you won’t lose its inherent identity.

At the workshop we had the three low whistles and two flutes getting into quite a groove with countless repeats and nuances merging that was pleasing to be part of. I wish I had recorded it at the time, but it inspired me to play for a bit longer than usual in my own reference recording of it.

This tune would go well in a set ahead of Pawky Adam Glen. Both are in 3/2 and the shift from G/Em to Bm/D is a striking one. Alternatively, going into a tune in 9/8 would also be effective.

The Droketty March is from Drogheda in County Louth. While we didn’t manage to cover this tune, I have also included it in the Resources.

Upcoming worshops

Edinburgh FluteFling workshops resume 26 January 2019. The FluteFling Scottish Flute Weekend for flutes and whistles will take place in Edinburgh 26-28 April. Sign up to the FluteFling Newsletter to hear news about events and tickets directly.