Sean Shibe Meets Dunedin Consort Queen's Hall 14th April 2024 Review
Sean Shibe Meets Dunedin Consort at the Queen’s Hall tonight was a chance to enjoy the combined talents of one of the best guitarists/lute players of his generation and the always interesting musicians that make up Dunedin Consort with performances of a diverse and carefully curated programme of music.
The programme below is one of the most diverse that I have heard Dunedin Consort perform, but it is also one of the most interlinked too.
Various Straloch and Rowallan Scottish lute manuscripts
John Dowland Lachrimae
Henry Purcell Fantasia à 4, Z 738
Henry Purcell In Nomine à 7, Z 747
Francesco Geminiani Sonata No. 3, The last Time I came o'er the Moor
James MacMillan (arr. George Duthie), From Galloway
David Fennessy Rosewoods I & V
Linda Catlin Smith Sinfonia
Cassandra Miller Chanter
Edinburgh-born guitarist and lutist Sean Shibe is a very special talent who is equally at home playing delicate lute songs of the past, classical and electric guitar, and his ability to both explore the music of centuries ago whilst being equally at home with modern and contemporary composers (Steve Reich to name but one) and also explore his own creative paths is in part what makes him almost someone who can time travel, in his music at least.
It was therefore appropriate that tonight’s music opened with Sean Shibe performing a wonderful selection of Scottish lute manuscripts. There is, for me, always something very special about hearing the sounds of a lute. It is an almost magical instrument and its sounds always seem to be evocative of another place, another time, but somehow of no particular time too. It is almost as if a lute, particularly when played by someone with the skill levels of Sean Shibe, just makes time itself stand still and takes you, the listener, to a very special place.
There is a very definite thread of time itself in tonight’s musical programme and as we weave our way forwards through it, we encounter the music of John Dowland (1562/3 -1626) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695) next and the connectivity between the two pieces is obvious in parts and that feeling of time and musical inspiration being a never ending cycle is maintained.
Music continues to move forwards in time with work by Francesco Geminiani (1687-1782) before flowing into the music of contemporary composers James MacMillan (b 1959) and David Fennessy (b 1976). No matter what century we are in musically though, the ability of Dunedin Consort to interpret the music is always full of surprises. Sadly, with a musical programme as varied as this one there is simply not enough space in this review to give much of this music the attention to detail that it deserves, as the final work of this evening from Linda Catlin Smith (b 1957) deserves a little more review space here along with Sean Shibe and Dunedin Consort’s performance of it.
Sometimes a work comes along that really defies any technical explanation of it as it is really something that can only be experienced at an emotional, and almost meditative level, and Cassandra Miller’s “Chanter” (a world premiere) is one of these very special works. This music, as the composer freely acknowledges, owes a lot to the music of Scottish smallpipes player Brighde Chaimbeul and her permission for its use in this way (programme notes). Sean Shibe is also a central figure in the creation of this work as the multi layering of his voice until he entered an almost sleep like state is in part what gave inspiration to Cassandra Miller to weave this wonderful soundscape and create very special music for Sean to play on guitar. To play such a work that requires so many technical skills on guitar you need a very special talent and someone who is just as technically proficient with both their left and right hands when playing, as any weakness between the two will show very quickly. Sean Shibe is such a talent and the soundscape created which composed of Verse 1 Rippling Sea, Verse 2 Bellowing, Verse 3 Sleep-Chanting, Verse 4 Slowing Air and Coda Skye–dreaming was simply an almost magical use of the endless possibilities that sound and music can offer both the performer and listener alike.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
The programme below is one of the most diverse that I have heard Dunedin Consort perform, but it is also one of the most interlinked too.
Various Straloch and Rowallan Scottish lute manuscripts
John Dowland Lachrimae
Henry Purcell Fantasia à 4, Z 738
Henry Purcell In Nomine à 7, Z 747
Francesco Geminiani Sonata No. 3, The last Time I came o'er the Moor
James MacMillan (arr. George Duthie), From Galloway
David Fennessy Rosewoods I & V
Linda Catlin Smith Sinfonia
Cassandra Miller Chanter
Edinburgh-born guitarist and lutist Sean Shibe is a very special talent who is equally at home playing delicate lute songs of the past, classical and electric guitar, and his ability to both explore the music of centuries ago whilst being equally at home with modern and contemporary composers (Steve Reich to name but one) and also explore his own creative paths is in part what makes him almost someone who can time travel, in his music at least.
It was therefore appropriate that tonight’s music opened with Sean Shibe performing a wonderful selection of Scottish lute manuscripts. There is, for me, always something very special about hearing the sounds of a lute. It is an almost magical instrument and its sounds always seem to be evocative of another place, another time, but somehow of no particular time too. It is almost as if a lute, particularly when played by someone with the skill levels of Sean Shibe, just makes time itself stand still and takes you, the listener, to a very special place.
There is a very definite thread of time itself in tonight’s musical programme and as we weave our way forwards through it, we encounter the music of John Dowland (1562/3 -1626) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695) next and the connectivity between the two pieces is obvious in parts and that feeling of time and musical inspiration being a never ending cycle is maintained.
Music continues to move forwards in time with work by Francesco Geminiani (1687-1782) before flowing into the music of contemporary composers James MacMillan (b 1959) and David Fennessy (b 1976). No matter what century we are in musically though, the ability of Dunedin Consort to interpret the music is always full of surprises. Sadly, with a musical programme as varied as this one there is simply not enough space in this review to give much of this music the attention to detail that it deserves, as the final work of this evening from Linda Catlin Smith (b 1957) deserves a little more review space here along with Sean Shibe and Dunedin Consort’s performance of it.
Sometimes a work comes along that really defies any technical explanation of it as it is really something that can only be experienced at an emotional, and almost meditative level, and Cassandra Miller’s “Chanter” (a world premiere) is one of these very special works. This music, as the composer freely acknowledges, owes a lot to the music of Scottish smallpipes player Brighde Chaimbeul and her permission for its use in this way (programme notes). Sean Shibe is also a central figure in the creation of this work as the multi layering of his voice until he entered an almost sleep like state is in part what gave inspiration to Cassandra Miller to weave this wonderful soundscape and create very special music for Sean to play on guitar. To play such a work that requires so many technical skills on guitar you need a very special talent and someone who is just as technically proficient with both their left and right hands when playing, as any weakness between the two will show very quickly. Sean Shibe is such a talent and the soundscape created which composed of Verse 1 Rippling Sea, Verse 2 Bellowing, Verse 3 Sleep-Chanting, Verse 4 Slowing Air and Coda Skye–dreaming was simply an almost magical use of the endless possibilities that sound and music can offer both the performer and listener alike.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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