Classical review: Edmar Castaneda, Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh

Firstly, the kora harp-lute of west Africa had migrated north, in the able hands of Senegalese player Lamine Cissokho, to settle with surprising ease into the Swedish-based trio Namo, with Swedish viola d’amore player Maria Jonsson and Welsh guitarist Ian Carr.

“Namo” is Mandinka for “good”, and they were, very, with the staccato cascading of kora and guitar tempered nicely by the mellow tone of the viola, with repertoire ranging from a Swedish polska to irresistibly loping melodies from the Senegalese griot tradition.

Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda had also travelled north, from his native Colombia to New York, and his subsequent immersion in the jazz melting pot was obvious right from the gloriously syncopated mayhem of his opening “warm-up”. His combination of virtuosity and boyish enthusiasm suffused every note he struck, from his belling declaration of faith, titled simply Jesus Christ, to the torrid Latin breeze that blew away that old standard, Autumn Leaves; from his gorgeously irridescent Hummingbird, combining flamenco and Colombian joropo influences, to his joyous encore improvising with Cissokho.

The concert also saw Welshman Alex Mills receive the Clarsach Society’s young composer award for his contemporary classical composition The Dream of Rhonabwy. If its beautifully limpid interpretation by harpist Gwen Sinclair and cellist Maya Burman-Roy was anything to go by, his music should travel far.

Rating: *****