Classical review: Blas Grand Finale

Published on Sunday 13 September 2009 22:09

EMPIRE THEATRE, EDEN COURT, INVERNESS ****

THE gala concert marking the end of another very successful Blas Festival began just as the event had started eight days earlier in Inverness Cathedral, with a truncated version of the set delivered on that opening night by the five young musicians of the Caledonian Canal Ceilidh Trail.

They coped confidently with both a full house and the very obtrusive cameraman from BBC Alba recording the show for future broadcast.

The Barra MacNeils, six siblings from Cape Breton, are seasoned campaigners, and delivered a tidy but slightly pedestrian set that felt like a miniature zip through their full show, with a bit of everything they do thrown in – six-part unison vocals, lively instrumentals and sprightly step dance all included.

Canada was represented again after the interval with a superb set from Tread, a group of three musicians and two dancers from Canada and Ireland. Irish harpist Triona Marshall, Canadian fiddler Jon Pilatzke and guitarist Jef McLarnon performed a mix of Irish, Cape Breton and Quebecois tunes, while Cara Butler and Nathan Pilatzke danced respectively the Irish and more loose-limbed Ottawa versions of step dance.

Headliners Blazin' Fiddles introduced their new line-up to Inverness, with Anna Massie on guitar and the fiddlers now down to four following Aidan O'Rourke's departure. The band remain a formidable force, reeling off high-energy tunes with flair and panache. Another former member, Duncan Chisholm, joined them for the final set, and the encore brought all of the evening's musicians to the stage for a final exuberant flurry of tunes.