THE Highland-wide Blas Festival is in its fourth year, but this is the first time that Eden Court has been available to them, and they celebrated with a concert that tested the stamina of a well-filled house. The addition of an extra item to an alr
eady crowded programme meant a long night.
None of the artists had sufficient time, which proved frustrating. On the credit side, we heard a rich variety of music, from the kids of the two Inverness Fèisean through to a turbo-charged finale from Skye's Peatbog Faeries (although a seated theatre is not their ideal environment).
The late addition featured a large group of musicians from the Fèisean performing Blair Douglas's commission for Highland 2007, which will be heard again in Glasgow soon, and in Liverpool in December. The impact of the first Gaelic song disappeared when they microphones initially failed to work, and it felt as if it needed a little more rehearsing in places.
Cape Breton's JP Cormier delivered a short set that underlined his guitar virtuosity as well as his accomplished fiddling and singing. Piper Fred Morrison seemed to be getting into his stride just as his short set ended, and Dàimh turned in their usual energised set of powerful instrumentals leavened by Calum Alex Macmillan's Gaelic song.
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