Reviews / The re-birth of Lunna Kirk: a magical night in a magical setting
Clothed in white her dark eyes looking out across the water to Vidlin. Hope and joy cursing through her ancient stones in the knowing she was to be born again. Her belly full of new souls gracing her with their presence, making her feel warm and alive.
She allowed herself happiness and contentment as she revelled in her re-birth. There was new purpose now, and she nodded inwardly thanking the community who made it happen.
Saturday night’s concert in Lunna featuring Tales of the Sea was sublime, writes Carol Jamieson.
The music perfection, the venue stunning and the weather warm, calm and sunny. The pre-concert chat had an extra animation to it as it was the first of – hopefully – many concerts in this new venue.
Parts of Lunna Kirk date back to the 1100s, and the building has housed different denominations, even been a burial chamber, but never multi – functional until now. The repurposing is careful and respectful of the original building, with all the character retained. The old timbers still have their rich hue and the pews are all in place….no plastic seats.
A quick word about the two outstanding performers. Professional soprano Catherine Bilton has been coming to Sandsound since a child and loves Shetland. She graduated from Cardiff University in 2018 and has kept herself very busy since then.
Neil Georgeson needs no introduction; born and bred here he comes back frequently and proceeds to wow regularly with his incredible abilities.
They only met, for the first time, the day before the concert for coffee and to discuss how the show would go but we could easily have been fooled into thinking they had been practicing for weeks.
Since the organ was there anyway, Neil felt it would be a good idea to play it, and rightly so. One piece being The Skye Boat Song. Dark rich, brooding harmonies supporting a beautifully sung melodic line carrying the song across the water.
With water being the theme of the evening, nearly all the pieces carried that theme reminding us of the close relationship we islanders have with the sea as well as linking with the Shetland Bus which started out in Lunna before moving to Scalloway.
One particularly interesting piece was Jordan River Song by Ethiopian nun Emahoy Tsegué-Maryan Guèbrou went down well. Her music was never written out, only recordings exist.
Near the end of the first half Neil launched into the Waldstein sonata by Beethoven. He only played the finale, (as he reminded us, the whole piece would have taken over 20 mins). The rondo (piece with a recurring theme) is exceptionally difficult and virtuosic, but he carried it off seemingly effortlessly. The 120-strong audience was quite blown away judging by the huge cheer at the end.
Immediately after, Catherine sang a favourite folk song The Water is Wide, accompaniment by Britten, and a wonderful version. Vilia, a sad love story and She Moved Through the Fair, an unaccompanied traditional Irish song, were enrapturing. What a fabulous height Catherine has to her voice. The listener cannot help but be swept away.
One interesting aspect of the programme was the inclusion of period music by Byrd written in 1591 and the earliest piece of keyboard music in existence dated around 1360 fitting nicely with the antiquity of the building.
The final song of the evening Song to the Moon was possibly the most theatrical and powerful of the night, full of pathos and real acting putting across the narrative beautifully.
The idea for Catherine to sing in the pulpit creating a stage area worked very well. Her voice textured, mellow, sonorous and with huge depth and range of tone, she could audibly hold power in check and control it completely while letting out gradually the feeling and emotion.
Each song telling a tale while holding us in the palm of her hand. Of course, she knew she could relax knowing her accompanist would be with her every step of the way.
Both Catherine and Neil gave their time for free. All proceeds will be shared between the Lunna Kirk Preservation Group and the RNLI.
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