>> I'm going to see a "Celtic folk group" from Tasmania called Tantallon, >> who are playing in a nearby village. Anybody heard of them? > I went to see them last night and thought they were excellent. There > were a couple of their numbers which were a bit ropey, but the rest > were very fine: mostly Scottish or own compositions in Scottish style, > with a few Irish pieces thrown in. The line-up is clarsach, border > pipes, cello and accordion, with other instruments (mandolin, bouzouki, > whistle, guitar, etc) making guest appearances. > They are playing in Newtongrange on Thursday 4th, so hopefully Jack > Campin will be able to check them out.
I agree. Their cello player is bloody phenomenal (unashamedly classical technique, left hand all over the fingerboard with lots of extrovert flashiness, but the style was always right and he got away with it). They're also very good at group unaccompanied singing. > If I had criticisms I'd say the whistle playing isn't very strong and > the piper lost his way on a couple of numbers, but I'd be nitpicking. The accordion playing was mostly a bit basic as well, but what there was of it worked; the woman who plays it is much better as a singer and bodhran player. What kind of guitar was it they were mostly using? Four double courses, but it seemed to be the same pitch as a normal guitar (capoed the same way for the same keys) and had the same body and neck shape, so it wasn't a double-strung acoustic bass. Some kind of special-purpose rhythm guitar where the manufacturer decided you wouldn't be needing the top two courses? The piper had a really nice light style when he switched to it (the cellist played it too, but pummelled the hell out of it like he was in a punk band). > It was a real treat for Muthill, a village up the road from Crieff, > and it was a shame that there were perhaps twelve of an audience at > the most. They got a packed room here - they'd been before, so people knew about them. =================== <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> =================== Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
