ALLAN MACDONALD & NEIL JOHNSTONE - The Bruce 700
Private Label BRUCE700
This epic work was commissioned by Stirling Council in order to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn and to celebrate Robert de Brus. Allan MacDonald, a highland piper of renown, teamed up with cellist and conductor Neil Johnstone to compose this work prior to a performance in Stirling during 2014. They assembled a cast including well known artists as well as young performers, a pipe band and a massed choir, before repeating the whole thing at Celtic Connections. The Bruce 700 is a live recording of that performance.
The work moves through traditional pipe tunes, a march representing going into battle, before the total chaos of the battle itself. There follows a lament, beautifully played on small pipes with evocative voices, before another march and celebration led by the pipe band. The whole piece finishes with Saorsa (Freedom), based on an ancient piece with words specially written for The Bruce 700.
It must have been a wonderful concert in Glasgow, judging from this work, which I don’t feel quite does the live performance justice. It’s hard to appreciate the scale of that performance but I am sure those who were at either concert will be dashing out to get their copy to remind them of that night. It’s well worth a listen if you fancy something quite original.
www.allanmacdonald.com
Dave Beeby
 |
Buy
this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 116 of The Living Tradition magazine. |