Celtic Connections review: Väsen / Chris Stour, Catriona McKay & The Scottish Ensemble, Old Fruitmarket

THE first half of this intriguingly contrasted programme, broadly linked by northerly association, featured the world premiere performance of Sally Beamish’s Seavaigers, a three-movement concerto for string orchestra collaboratively composed with its soloists,

Shetland fiddler Chris Stout and Dundee-born harpist Catriona McKay, and bearing the old Scottish name for North Sea voyagers.

With the dozen members of the Scottish Ensemble, directed by Jonathan Morton, closely clustered around this central pairing , the music delivered a thrilling succession of vivid, overlapping sonic impressions: choppy waters, shipboard bustle, the play of sun and clouds on white-capped waves; moonlit calm, wraiths of sea-mist, the sirens’ call and the song of the whale. Undercurrents of jazz, swing, funk and gypsy influence were discernible, as the piece steered its course between traditional Scottish waters and more turbulent contemporary horizons, at one point cheekily echoing the Jaws theme tune.

After the interval, the Swedish trio Väsen also set about blurring artistic boundaries in their own inimitable way, specialising as they do in making just three instruments – nyckelharpa, five-string viola and 12-string guitar – sound like a small orchestra. Although deeply rooted in their native Uppland regional traditions, their largely original repertoire and consummate telepathic synergy transcend and translate these sources into a universally eloquent musical language, equally fluent in filigree chamber-baroque refinement and bare-knuckle rock’n’roll attack.

Rating: ****