PMD Editions More Accessible in the Netherlands

Eric van Balkum of the Netherlands Radio Music Library got in touch via twitter, and very kindly agreed to describe a recent project, involving the Library's substantial holdings of musical scores by St Magnus Festival President, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

As a cataloguer at the Netherlands Radio Music Library (NRML) one is privileged. With some 400.000 items of classical and popular sheet music, its collection counts among the largest in Europe (and maybe even the world). The cataloguing standards are high as well, so our professional skills are challenged to the full.

The basis of the catalogue’s records are the rules of the International Standard Bibliographic Description. To this other metadata are added in order to make it possible for music lovers to find scores not only by their title, composer or publisher but also by, for example, the year of composition, the nationality and birth/death years of the composer or the instrumentation of the piece. This service is provided via online public catalogues in Dutch as well as English.

As part of our efforts (as NRML cataloguers) to keep ourselves up-to-date, we came upon Peter Maxwell Davies's Opus and WoO [Without Opus] numbers: a new work list by Nicholas Jones and Richard McGregor (Musical Times, Vol. 151, p. 53-86). This new thematic catalogue is authorized by the composer and therefore we decided to use it to recatalogue all PMD editions in our collection (approximately 300) so that each can also be found by its thematic number (opus or WoO).

These editions used to be catalogued by my former colleague Annelies van der Saag, who is an admirer of the composer’s music and a regular visitor to the St. Magnus Festival. She is, however, enjoying her well-deserved retirement. So – being a lover of modern music – I volunteered for the task of entering the new opus numbers and sometimes adding the original title given by Sir Peter to the one presented on the score as published.

Some of the Peter Maxwell Davies editions held by the Netherlands Radio Music Library, and recently re-catalogued
(Picture: Eric van Balkum)

The Dutch radio’s classical orchestras and chorus have regularly performed the music of Peter Maxwell Davies, including Veni Sancte Spiritus (op. 22) as early as 1966. In 1996 the composer came to Hilversum for the first time to conduct the Radio Symfonie Orkest (A Spell for Green Corn: the MacDonald Dances and Caroline Mathilde: Concert Suite from Act I of the Ballet). Sir Peter was also the conductor when two of his compositions received their Dutch premieres; Antarctic Symphony (Symphony No. 8) (in 2003, RSO) and Strathclyde Concerto No. 4 (in 2009, Radio Kamer Filharmonie).

The Dutch government has decided to cut the budget of the Netherlands Broadcasting Music Center - of which the NRML is part – by more than 50%. This means that the existence of the music library and some of the ensembles is seriously threatened.

Custodian Keeps Calm: Concerts, Cruise Ship & Quintet

Having survived her first St Magnus Festival event in St Magnus Cathedral, Fran Flett Hollinrake (Assistant Custodian), continues her account of the 2011 festival, from the perspective of the South Chapel (or Custodian's Office/Vestry)

Read more from Fran at her Dragon History blog; she is featured as Writer of the Month the June 2011 Living Orkney magazine.
(Pictures by Sweyn Hunter).

It was my hope and my intention to write a blog post about most of the concerts that took place inside the cathedral during the St Magnus Festival. But alas, whilst being thoroughly swept away by the whole thing, I was also working flat out from morn ‘til night and barely had time to jot down a few notes about all the wonderful performers that I heard and met. Here’s a hastily thrown together mash…..we’ll see how far I get.


As covered in my previous blog, my first experience of the festival was a concert by the London Sinfonietta, performing works by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Messiaen (and featuring the mesmerising cello playing of Oliver Coates). It transpired after the concert that someone’s mobile phone had rung during the performance (in fact I think it was 3 phones in all); and the next day, The Telegraph website published a well-aimed rant by Sir Peter about mobiles and their selfish owners. His ideas for fining the culprits and so on were not particularly practical, but I whole-heartedly agree with his view that a ringing phone destroys the spell and connection that have been so painstakingly created between performer and audience. I could come up with a comparison of my own, but it would seem trite; suffice to say I too have wanted to lynch someone for ruining the moment. [Sir Peter's full views, and the very varied readers' reactions on the Telegraph website, are well worth reading! Ed.]

After the Friday night delights, I spent the Saturday working not at the cathedral, but at Kirbuster Museum, where I spent a lovely day in the sunshine with the North Ronaldsay sheep and a funding application, with the occasional spell of gazing off into the distance and falling into a heat-induced-and-sleep-deprived reverie. Sunday saw me in the other farm museum at Corrigall, where I sat and battered out the first blog. I then zoomed off to Kirkwall to take up my custodian duties for the rehearsal and concert of Pure Brass. This young and feisty bunch had braved the Pentland Firth the previous Friday, and boarded Northlink's MV Hamnavoe for a performance at sea. Luckily they had a good passage; as one unable to cross the Firth unless heavily sedated to the point of unconsciousness, I am very impressed that they managed (so I am told) to stay upright, eat dinner, perform well, and pose for photos on the deck of the ship with instruments glinting in the sun and the Old Man of Hoy sticking out of the tops of their heads. Five Go Mad in Orkney, indeed!
They played 9 pieces in the cathedral, including a world premiere by the festival Artistic Director, Alasdair Nicholson (The Vanishing), and also the terrific Music for Pieces of Wood by Steve Reich. Pure Brass have great stage presence and the audience gave an enthusiastic response. At one point they split up and performed from different areas of the cathedral: the trombone player stood right outside the custodians’ office, which meant I was treated to a close up view/hearing, but it prevented me from boiling the kettle lest it put him off and create a PMD-style controversy! As the audience drifted off, leaving the musicians in earnest post-performance discussion (‘you do this at EVERY performance…’), I cleared up their Twix wrappers and soft drinks cans. The big wooden west door was locked, and as I opened the side door for one of the musicians, he asked me to ‘tell the small trumpet player that this is the way out. He gets easily confused’. Indeed, a few minutes later a small figure, heavily laden with instrument cases, was desperately rattling in the dark at the big door ……

Monday promised to be eventful. As well as a morning rehearsal and lunchtime concert by the London Sinfonietta, we were bracing ourselves for a huge influx of visitors: a massive cruise ship (the Crown Princess) had called into Kirkwall for the day and brought with her 3,500 passengers. I arrived good and early, to find Colin the stonemason and the stage crew already wheeling and trundling, so I started laying out leaflets at the front desk: French, Italian, Spanish, German – the big ships tend to have lots of different nationalities on board. I opened the door at 9.00am and in they came ... I don’t think I paused for breath for 3 hours, except perhaps to say hello to my colleague Ross when he arrive, and I hope that I managed to speak with, say hello to, or at the very least smile at, everyone who came through the door.


The tasks were made all the more challenging as there was a rehearsal going on at the same time (featuring a visit from composer Sally Beamish), and it was with something like relief that we ushered out the visitors and locked the door, ready for the concert at 1.00pm. Somehow that morning I had also managed to make good my promise to London Sinfonietta flautist Helen Keen, and taken her on a whistle-stop tour of the cathedral upper levels!

The concert presented seven pieces by contemporary British composers, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The first piece was Court Studies from The Tempest by Thomas Adès; fitting, as the festival was loosely themed around the play. The Tempest was the first Shakespeare play I ever studied (and I was lucky enough to see Derek Jacobi as Prospero at the Barbican), thus it has a special place in my heart; but despite my best efforts I did not manage to get #theaisleisfullofnoises trending on Twitter. The two pieces I especially enjoyed were the overtly percussive ones: PUNCH! by Alasdair Nicholson, and the fabulously named Arcade Pinball Junkie by Alasdair Spratt, which sounded exactly as you would imagine with bangs and bells and anarchic swirling things. I was sitting right behind the percussionist throughout, and witnessed a very active performance featuring the metal rattly thing, a heel-operated bass drum and a bewildering array of glockenspiels.

We opened the cathedral doors again at just after 2.00pm, and more people swarmed in. The afternoon passed in a blur (more rehearsals too, this time from Fretwork and the tenor Robin Tritschler [picture here]).

By 5pm the crowds had dispersed, and I shut the door at 6pm. I stood for a few moments listening to a cathedral silent but for the eerie sound of a solo viol as one of the Fretwork musicians practiced her part. A look at our door counter revealed that we had welcomed over 2,000 people to St Magnus that day, and I slept the sleep of the just that night (albeit sleep filled with dreams of cello players…)!

Next instalment….
Badke Quartet, Richard Morrison, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Strings, and the London Sinfonietta with the new conductors and composers!

#StMagnusFestival Extra Snippets #1

In The Reel earlier today (on St Magnus Festival Extra day, and between individual debriefing sessions for participants in the St Magnus Composers Course, along with Sally Beamish) Alasdair Nicolson answered a couple of questions that I've been wondering about.

Alasdair Nicolson, Artistic Director, thanking festival staff, volunteers, performers and visitors, just after midnight following the last night of the 2011 festival

Firstly, I asked about the Orkney 24 Hours exhibitions of photographs taken all over Orkney at various times of day on 14 February 2011, and displayed in the Pickaquoy Centre, St Magnus Cathedral and the St Magnus Centre: the pictures will be displayed until sometime next week (great news for people like me who totally failed to make time to see them during the festival). Alasdair was not sure exactly what would happen to them thereafter (a web archive, or even a Flickr album would be great!), but confidently predicted that "something would be done with them", so that is good news.

Secondly, having found a document (pictured below) lying around in St Magnus Cathedral on Wednesday afternoon, I wondered how the composers and conductors are paired for the Cathedral concert in which a new piece by each of the participants on the Composers' Course is conducted by a participant on the Orkney Conductors' Course. The answer is that in the first few years of the courses, thought was given to pairing composers and conductors, based on who might work well together. It was found by experience, however, that simply allocating pairs on a fairly random basis was as effective, so that is what happens now!

Eight New Pieces in an Old Kirk

Members of the London Sinfonietta have worked with St Magnus Composers' Course, and Orkney Conductors' Course participants since Wednesday 15 June, under the direction of Alasdair Nicolson, Sally Beamish, Martyn Brabbins and Charles Peebles. Today the Sinfonietta performs a series of 8 world premieres, composed and conducted by the participants on the courses.

The London Sinfonietta with Alasdair Nicolson, during a St Magnus Composers' Course workshop in the Peedie Kirk.
Helen Keen, flute; Andrew Webster, clarinet; Alexandra Wood, violin; Oliver Coates, cello; Tim Palmer, percussion

A programme is available at the concert, although (obviously) it was not possible to print programme notes in the official festival programme. By kind permission of the composers and the festival Artistic Director, programme notes are reproduced below.

Each programme note below is copyright the relevant composer, photos are available for under a Creative Commons license.


Colossus, by Chris Roe
conducted by Akiko Ohtomo

...we marvelled at its glittering pulleys, mechanical wizadry and strange rhythms...

‘Colossus’ was the name given to the codebreaking computer used by British cryptographers during World War II.A vast machine (at least by modern computing standards) consisting of plugboards, wires, cogs and tubes, Colossus fascinated workers at the time with its ‘glittering pulleys’, ‘mechanical wizardry’ and the ‘strange rhythms’ that it produced as it decoded the material fed into it.

As well as reflecting these descriptions in its soundworld, this piece sets up various musical machines throughout its structure where each part plays pulses in different perceived tempos.However, like Colossus, these machines are not always reliable, and therefore the relationship of the musical output of these 'machines' to their input varies throughout the piece.


Chris Roe (left) is currently in his first year on the Royal College of Music’s Masters course, studying with Kenneth Hesketh as an Ian Evans Lombe Scholar. Previously, he completed a BMus at Manchester University, studying with Camden Reeves, and graduating with first class honours. Chris has written for ensembles including the RCM Wind Ensemble and the Composers Ensemble, with recent performances at the National Portrait Gallery, Cosmo Rodewald and Amaryllis Fleming Concert Halls and an upcoming premiere in France this summer.
Akiko Ohtomo studied in Tokyo, whilstworking as an assistant conductor to Mstislav Rostropovich; as well as Naoto Otomothe 52nd Puccini Festival in Italy. then moved to Russia's St Petersburg State Conservatory where2005she was awarded first prizethe International Academy of Advanced Conducting Competition in St.Petersburg.She has established the Hokusai Chamber Orchestra and will perform to the 2012’s Lunchtime Concerts series in St.Martin-in-the-field, London.


Floating Bridge (the lion dances), by Lliam Paterson
conducted by Dane Lam

This work was inspired by the Noh play Shakkyō (The Stone Bridge), which I read and watched before coming to Orkney for the St. Magnus Composers’ Course. The play concerns the monk Jakushō, who comes to a stone bridge during his pilgrimage. A woodcutter boy appears to him, and warns that an attempt to cross the bridge would be treacherous; it leads to the Pure Land, and is not intended for mortals. After the boy predicts that a miracle will occur, he vanishes. Sure enough, a lion appears across the bridge (the carrier of Manjusri Bodhisattva) – it plays with beautiful peony flowers, and then performs a dance.

The eloquent descriptions of the bridge in the play, as well as seeing the magnificent Lion Dance, served as the primary inspiration for this work (rather than the actual music of the Noh play, although elements of its ritualistic quality can be observed). In particular, the frequent intimations of the divine to be found in the text are echoed in the returning woodwind arabesques, which to me also suggest the fragrance of the blossoms which enchant the lion. The dance-like passages were inspired by the energetic display of the Lion Dance.


Lliam Paterson (left) is currently an undergraduate reading music at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and studies composition with Errollyn Wallen. His music has been performed by the NYO, Edinburgh Quartet, and Britten Sinfonia among other ensembles, at venues including the Tate Modern and Royal Festival Hall. He was a winner of the StAnza Poetry Festival Composition Competition, the winning piece subsequently broadcast on BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. Lliam also studies piano, holding the Padley Repetiteur Scholarship.

Dane Lam graduated from The Julliard School under James DePreist, and holds the positions of Leverhulme Junior Fellow in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music, Principal Conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Assistant Conductor to Kurt Masur at the Orchestre National de France. Dane has appeared with the Sydney Symphony and conducted orchestras in three continents including the Melbourne and Queensland Symphonies, the Manchester Camerata, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Sofia Festival Orchestra, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, and the Juilliard Orchestra.


A Waltz for Grace, by Elisabeth Cowe
conducted by James Ham

The idea for this piece stemmed from a conversation with my Granny. On hearing that I would be coming to Orkney, which is where her mother was from, she suggested that I try to write some ‘nice’ music, perhaps a waltz. Though I don’t often take advice on composition from my elderly relatives – if I did, all my music would end up sounding like the ‘Bluebell Polka’ – this idea struck me as interesting.

The piece begins quietly, with fragments of the melody appearing gradually. At its centre is the ‘waltz’ which builds to a climax before a return to the fragmented texture of the opening.

I’m not sure if the piece would satisfy my Granny’s wish for ‘nice’ music but I shall play her the recording with fingers crossed!


Elisabeth Cowe graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MMus in Composition in 2010 where she studied with Nigel Osborne. Her music has been performed by Links Wind Quintet, Red Note Ensemble and St Andrew’s University Chamber Orchestra, amongst others. Recent compositions include ‘Under Sail’ for chamber orchestra and soloists, performed in the Byre Theatre in St Andrews, later broadcast on BBC Alba, as part of the StAnza Poetry Festival’s celebration of the work of Sorley MacLean.

James Ham studies conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatory with Vladimir Altschuler. Music director of the Apollo Sinfonia, recent performances also include concerts with the Amadeus Orchestra, Bombay Chamber Orchestra and Birmingham Junior Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra. Future projects include assisting Kristjan Järvi and the Baltic Youth Philharmonic in July. Prior to his studies in Russia, James taught at the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire and Birmingham University, where he was awarded an MPhil in Musicology.


Light Upon Darkness, by Gillian Menichino
conducted by Alexander Humala

The essence of the music, opaque, yet translucent alludes to the idea of purity in light and the weight in darkness as expressed by colour contrasts produced from within the ensemble.

“I am not who I am without the fragments of my past Once left behind, made still and unchanged My past has bestowed upon me A culmination of imprints Misshapen fragments, still, unmoved. Light upon darkness pronouncing textures of a fragmented globe From which only I perceive, light upon darkness, I, that which has been drawn from a past once in motion, set in stone. Where to be still, There she remains, unmoved, her true identity, Possessed by stillness, set in stone, pronounced by light.”

Gillian Menichino (left) has participated in master classes with Simon Bainbridge, Steve Mackey, James MacMillan, Brian Ferneyhough, and Judith Weir. Commissions have included a works for the Steve Mackey Festival in 2008 and for the James MacMillan Festival in 2009. Recent commissions have included pieces for choir under the direction of Jonathan Lo and for the Judith Weir Festival. She has had the unique opportunity of working with the BBC singers twice in London. Gillian was awarded a Master’s degree in Composition and Contemporary music from the RNCM under the instruction of Dr. David Horne and Gary Carpenter in 2009. She is currently doing a PhD in music composition at the RNCM with Adam Gorb and Dr. David Horne.

Alexander Humala studied at the Belarusian Conservatory (in choral singing and piano) and in the Belarus Academy of Music. He has worked as assistant conductor of the Choir of the Belarusian Radio, at the opera house of Wroclaw and with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. He won an international conductor competition in Riga 2009, Laureate of the Polish Minister of Culture «Goude Polonia» 2009 and the Grand Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus 2010. He is currently a student at Rotterdam Conservatory studying opera and symphony conducting.


Song of the Awakening Dawn, by Nancie Eloise Gynn
conducted by Sinead Hayes

Any previous idea I had for this piece was blown away on my arrival in Orkney. My music is very much inspired by everything around me, and I love the light and sense of space here. As I explored the Ring of Brodgar, the expansive landscapes and the calls of lapwings and oyster catchers evoked memories of my windswept childhood in West Cornwall. I watched as the wind created ripples on the otherwise still water, and the reflected colours ever-changing as the clouds grew more ominous…yet stillness prevails.


Nancie Eloise Gynn (left) completed her Masters in Composition with distinction at Cardiff University School of Music in 2008, studying with Anthony Powers, Judith Weir and Arlene Sierra. In 2009, she participated in the Britten-Pears Programme with Oliver Knussen and Colin Matthews, where she wrote Shadow of the Wind which was premiered at the 2010 Aldeburgh Festival to critical acclaim. Eloise has recently written for the London Symphony Orchestra through the LSO Panufnik Young Composers Scheme, under the supervision of James MacMillan.
Sinead Hayes, originally from Galway, completed her MMus in conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2009. She is music director of Bury Choral Society and Amaretti Chamber Orchestra in Manchester. In the past year she has worked with the Orquestra do Algarve, Bochumer Symphoniker, Essener Philharmoniker and North Czech Philharmonic and was associate conductor of the Hallé Harmony Youth Orchestra, featured in the Channel 4 documentary Orchestra United, in summer 2010. She has recently been appointed assistant conductor for British Youth Opera‘s 2011 production of Le Nozze di Figaro.


Rushes, by Chris Litherland
conducted by Robert Houssart

“It is an irregular, uncertain motion, perpetual, patternless and without end.” (Montaigne)


Chris Litherland (left) studied at the Music School of Douglas Academy, before going on to the RSAMD, Glasgow, and Trinity College of Music, London. He is interested in music that combines contemporary music with theatre, movement and spoken word, as well as more traditional forms of concert music. Chris lives in Caithness, close to the most northerly point in mainland Scotland, a landscape that is very dear to him, serving as an inspiration for much of his creative work at present.

Robert Houssart studied at Cambridge and at the RNCM. After several years as a keyboard player, he made his debut conducting Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre at the Adelaide Festival 2010, and has since conducted productions for the Royal Opera House, at Sadlers Wells, Opera North and at the Luminato Festival, Toronto. He has worked as assistant conductor at La Monnaie' Brussels, Teatro Colòn, Buenos Aires, ABAO Bilbao, Opera North, ENO, and at the Hallé.


Slide, by Fiona Rutherford
conducted by Fergus Macleod

As a composer whose main background lies largely in traditional Scottish music, this project has been a great opportunity and learning experience in writing for contemporary ensemble in scored music form! title refers to the easy shifts and open-minded approach towards cross-over music-making; an attitude that inspires me. sense of fun, humour, melody and eccentricity provide the main focus for the musical material.


Fiona Rutherford (left) studied at The City of Edinburgh Music School, Dartington College of Arts and Edinburgh University.She works freelance performing and teaching on the Scottish Harp, alongside composition work.She particularly enjoys collaborationand has written for theatre and film, including award-winning feature film 'The Inheritance' and the acclaimed new release 'The Space Between'.Her music has been played on Radio Scotland,FMand3's Late Junction and in 2010 she was the winner of The Clarsach Society's Young Composer Award. conductor

Fergus Macleod has worked with orchestras including the Tokyo Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony Orchestra and London Chamber Orchestra, he has studied with conductors including David Zinman, Pierre Boulez and Heinz Holliger and has lead over 20 world premieres. This summer, as well as participating in the Orkney Conducting Class with Martyn Brabbins, he will conduct Rusalka in the Czech Republic and return to study with Pierre Boulez in Lucerne. He is currently studying for a Masters Degree in conducting with Johannes Schlaefly at Zurich University for the Arts.


A Waltz for Grace, by Elisabeth Cowe
conducted by James Ham

The idea for this piece stemmed from a conversation with my Granny. On hearing that I would be coming to Orkney, which is where her mother was from, she suggested that I try to write some ‘nice’ music, perhaps a waltz. Though I don’t often take advice on composition from my elderly relatives – if I did, all my music would end up sounding like the ‘Bluebell Polka’ – this idea struck me as interesting.

The piece begins quietly, with fragments of the melody appearing gradually. At its centre is the ‘waltz’ which builds to a climax before a return to the fragmented texture of the opening.

I’m not sure if the piece would satisfy my Granny’s wish for ‘nice’ music but I shall play her the recording with fingers crossed!


Elisabeth Cowe graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MMus in Composition in 2010 where she studied with Nigel Osborne. Her music has been performed by Links Wind Quintet, Red Note Ensemble and St Andrew’s University Chamber Orchestra, amongst others. Recent compositions include ‘Under Sail’ for chamber orchestra and soloists, performed in the Byre Theatre in St Andrews, later broadcast on BBC Alba, as part of the StAnza Poetry Festival’s celebration of the work of Sorley MacLean.

James Ham studies conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatory with Vladimir Altschuler. Music director of the Apollo Sinfonia, recent performances also include concerts with the Amadeus Orchestra, Bombay Chamber Orchestra and Birmingham Junior Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra. Future projects include assisting Kristjan Järvi and the Baltic Youth Philharmonic in July. Prior to his studies in Russia, James taught at the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire and Birmingham University, where he was awarded an MPhil in Musicology.

The End

Windpower!

As I made my way down St Magnus Lane on Monday morning, from the Cathedral to the Orkney Library and Archive (to wrestle the pictures off my phone onto my PC, with the assistance of their excellent free WiFi), I was idly wondering where the rehearsal for Tuesday evening's Windpower concert was taking place. Suddenly from the open door of the Orkney Youth Cafe a blast of brass and woodwind answered the question!

The massed forces of Kirkwall Town Band, Orkney schools brass, wind and percussion, and other local players are working hard today, with conductor Ben Gurnon, on the music for the concert at the Pickaquoy Centre on Tuesday at 1800. They will play alongside the Scottish Chamber Orchestra brass and wind sections, Flutes en Route, Pipers 3 and Pure Brass.

Harriet Stout, clarinetist, who recently left Stromness Academy after her 6th year writes:

Over the years I’ve enjoyed playing clarinet in instrumental courses and swing bands. Performing in an enormous band with professional musicians from different backgrounds is something I never imagined I’d get the chance to do. I've played in the Pickaquoy Centre Arena many times; it has an incredible atmosphere, and it will be a great venue for Windpower, which is going to be a spectacular concert. Our conductor, Ben Gernon, is very enthusiastic and helpful, so we have not felt under too much pressure to play the right notes first time.

The programme includes a wide variety of pieces, from the sensational Music of the Royal Fireworks by Handel, to the Latin-American inspired Tico Tico by Zequinha de Abreu. The concert also includes the world premiere of Caliban’s Boogie, which was composed specifically for this year's festival by Simon Wills. So far, the pieces have proved to be enjoyable to play, if somewhat challenging in parts. The fact that we will be playing with some of the best brass and wind musicians in the country, has really motivated us, and we want to achieve the best result possible. It’s been a great experience so far and I’m hoping I can learn from the people who play professionally. The whole thing has motivated me to continue playing and improving for as long as I can. I’m excited to play in my first St. Magnus Festival and, if you are coming to watch on Tuesday evening, I hope you enjoy it.

Magfest

There's something Terrible in the Woodshed...

Finally, time to breathe after the run up to Magfest, turning Jewson's old store in Junction Road into Kirkwall's newest venue. You can see more pictures here.

Shona Reppe's Cinderella was brilliant and sadly the run is now over. Kefar Nehum is a dark and startling Gothic show which animates everyday objects as strange and terrifying creatures against a live electronic soundtrack. The Terrible Infants have had justifiable rave reviews and there may be a few tickets left for their last show tonight: catch them if you can. The Berlin Cabaret starts tomorrow but is already sold out, so if you have a ticket we look forward to saying Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome to you tomorrow night or on Wednesday.

Cathedral Custodian Copes with Concert

Fran Flett Hollinrake, Assistant Custodian of St Magnus Cathedral, shares (exclusively for this blog!) the experience of her first late night SMF Cathedral concert "on duty".

Read more from Fran at her Dragon History blog; she is featured as Writer of the Month the June 2011 Living Orkney magazine.


It’s been building up all week….schedules being finalised, strangers in artfully-draped scarves wafting around Broad Street, and the ‘pink stage’ pencilled in for Thursday night….and, mercifully, the weather seems to be behaving.

This is my first hands-on experience of the St Magnus Festival, and the buzz about the place is very energising. I’ve been told to stay out of the way of the stage crew (who can whip a stage out in the time it takes me to make a cup of tea), but to be on hand just in case anything is needed. We have a small supply of bottled water for the performers, and we also have to stock up on patience and forbearance as the whirlwind goes on around us, in ‘our’ cathedral! This is definitely one time of year when we can’t be precious, but at the same time vigilance is required to ensure that the cathedral remains in the same condition at the end of the festival as it was at the beginning.

On Friday I arrived for work at 6.00pm, in time to help usher out visitors, lock the doors, tidy up and get things ready for the London Sinfonietta, due to rehearse at 7.00pm. It was a lovely afternoon and the early evening sun was shining through the west window and creating very colourful splashes of light on the 12th century red sandstone pillars. We removed the temporary stanchions from around the stage area, and I got out the duster to polish the Boston grand piano, set centre stage. We can’t use furniture polish on the piano, so it is elbow grease alone that is required to bring up the shine. I kept spotting bits that needed doing, and will admit to stifling a cry when the stage crew (at the request of the pianist) shifted it a few feet to the left and left grubby finger marks all over it!

The first performer to arrive was a slight, young handsome fellow carrying a white cello case. He looked about 12 years old. We had a chat and he said he’d never visited Orkney before but he thought it was lovely and he was hoping to have the chance to look around the islands. As well as rehearsing and performing, he told me, he has also been involved in the composers’ course too, so has a very busy week with not much time for sight-seeing. The flautist, on the other hand, had been here several times before and was very keen to see the upper levels of the cathedral, so I told her we would see what we could do on that front!

Sally Beamish gives London Sinfonietta notes on Monday, during a rehearsal of her Commedia
(Picture: Sweyn Hunter)

More musicians arrived through the door in the south transept, and the violin player asked if we had a Green Room. Of course! I cried, follow me! Here is a well-appointed toilet with plenty of room for getting changed, and a large mirror. And here (flings door open wide) is the 13th-century north vestry, usually used by the kirk minister, replete with wax-encrusted candlesticks, 17th century wooden chair (featuring wooden Green Man carving…look! Green Man! Green Room! Hehe……oh, never mind…) and door leading down to the old cellar where they used to keep the lime for throwing onto the….ummm…anyway, if there’s anything else you need, give me a shout.

London Sinfonietta players preparing to play in the Cathedral on Friday night
(Picture: Fran Flett Hollinrake)

Whilst the rehearsal progressed, I got on with a bit of work, needed only occasionally to provide gaffer tape (for marking the position of the music stands) and bottles of water. At about 9.00pm, the first of the Front of House folk arrived; the first of, as it transpired, a small army of very well turned-out folk, including a few familiar faces. We spent a little while looking at the exhibition of photographs – the result of the Orkney 24 project, when the people of Orkney took photos on 14 February and submitted them for selection. The pictures chosen represent 24 hours in the life of the islands, from farming to fishing and from dancing to darning. They have all been printed up and are now on display in a variety of festival venues, including the cathedral (and featuring one image taken by your friendly neighbourhood custodian *coff coff*).

The Front of House manager arrived and set to with a precision that would have warmed the heart of many an army general. The musicians’ manager came for a quick chat (Hi Andrew! *waves*) and assured me that he was very happy with the arrangements. The concert was supposed to start at 1000pm, but at 9.45pm the cathedral doors remained resolutely shut: it turned out that the performance of The Tempest at the Picky Centre was running over, and as it was likely that many festival-goers had tickets for both, it was decided to postpone the Sinfonietta concert until the play had finished. The doors opened at about 10.00pm, and the folk who came in were advised to wander and enjoy the building, so we spent a half hour or so chatting to folk about the cathedral and pointing out the wonderful stonemasons’ marks that have been rediscovered thanks to the new LED lighting system. The concert started at 10.40pm and we custodians retreated to our own vestry whilst the musicians took centre stage. The first piece, Veni Creator Spiritus, by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, was for flute and bass clarinet, and as dusk approached (this is Orkney at midsummer, remember), the flautist had to compete with the trilling of a blackbird in the kirkyard outside. Somehow, the two merged together in the still air and created something very ephemeral.

The second piece by Messiaen, Quartet for the End of Time, was written inside a WWII prison camp, and is in 8 movements. I was making notes for something else, with the music in the background, but an extraordinary sound started forcing its way into my brain and demanded my attention. I went to the door and looked over to the stage: the pianist was playing mournful, bell-like chords, and the cello player was producing heartbreaking sounds. It was hypnotising and highly emotional - I haven’t heard the piece before but the cathedral setting seemed to add a layer of spirituality. By the time it was over, the cellist* had stolen my heart.

The London Sinfonietta rehearse before Monday's lunchtime Cathedral concert
Helen Keen, flute; Andrew Webster, clarinet; Alexandra Wood, violin;
Oliver Coates, cello; John Constable, piano
(Picture: Sweyn Hunter)

When everyone had gone, we straightened the chairs, switched off the lights and locked the doors. By the time I was on the road home it was well past midnight, but there was still a lot of light in the sky. Driving over the Old Finstown Road I was flanked by a golden buttery moon over Scapa Bay, and a beautiful orange-purple Simmer Dim over the north isles. A perfect end to a lovely evening.

*Having tweeted to this effect, I was delighted to receive a tweet back from @ollycoates (for it is he)!

[You can follow the London Sinfonietta on twitter: @ldn_sinfonietta]

St Magnus Festival afloat!

Chas MacKenzie and Ruaridh Campbell spent Thursday evening aboard Northlink's MV Hjaltland playing as people arrived in Orkney on the ferry from Aberdeen, the evening before the festival got fully underway. On Friday, I accompanied Pure Brass UK as they played a varied programme between Stromness and Scrabster, on a beautiful day.

From left: Gordon Seith, trombone; Fraser Russell, tuba; Mandy Murphy, trumpet; Tom Poulson, trumpet; Samantha McShane, french horn. Ready to board MV Hamnavoe in Stromness at the beginning of the excursion

As well as playing in the bar, the brave quintet also performed on the sun deck as the ferry passed St John's Head and the Old Man of Hoy.

I was not the only one to make a (short) day trip excursion with Pure Brass: Orkney resident Sylvia Mowat (pictured below, right) who used to play tenor horn with Brechin City Band, and Kirkwall Town Band, and her brother Vic Clark (visiting Sylvia from south, and who also played tenor horn with Brechin City) also came along for the ride, and to hear the music!


I took these few pictures with my phone , there are lot's more on the ensemble's official digital camera, which has now gone with them to Westray, for their Festival on Tour concert tonight at Noltland Castle. I hope I'll be able to display some of those pictures, along with some audio and video, here on the blog - but this may not happen until next week! Pure Brass will be resident throughout the festival, in collaboration with Enterprise Music Scotland.

Every year, the festival throws up at least one totally unexpected pleasure: I will remember for a very long time Friday's performance of a brass arrangement of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' famous Farewell to Stromness, as the ferry left Stromness pier in bright sunshine. Just as we passed the Ness Battery, the piece came to an end. Beautiful.

Friday Events!

If you see something good, interesting or amusing in Orkney today, or if you have an opinion about life, the festival or anything, please leave a comment below!