home
|
about
|
news
|
contents
|
gossip
|
photographs
|
venues
|
brighton
|
dublin
|
edinburgh
|
film
|
features
|
interviews
|
awards
|
fashion
|
recipes
|
no more drinks
|
newsletter
|
links
|
contact
Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
THE GLITS - FESTIVAL CONCERT
Verdict: Crisp and sultry delight
Edinburgh - St Cecilia's Hall - August 02
The Glits - 23 women in various combinations (Oo-er, Matron) - and their pianist, sing and play 21 pieces listed separately below. Performed ensemble by The Glits, unless otherwise stated:
Had I The Heavens' Embroidered Cloths (Music - Michael Cleveland b 1937; words - William Butler Yeats (1856-1939)). Fine opening number showing The Glits' impressive range.
No Thank You, John (Music - Ruth Morris Gray b 1961; words - Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)). A nonsense song 'I never said I'd love you, John'. Since the time of John the Baptist, Johns have lost their heads to unsuitable women, and in this case it's definitely a hopeless cause: 'Friendship, yes; but love - no thank you John'. Sung with an alternation of pathos and bounce.
Sing We and Chant It (Thomas Morley adapted by Edmund H Fellowes). Performers - Madrigal Group. 8 performers handle the lead, the remaining 15 fa-la-la-la discreetly in the background.
The Silver Swan (Orlando Gibbons 1612). Performers - Madrigal Group. Superb interpretation of Gibbons's complex piece by the madrigal octet.
Walkin' Round Heaven (James H Laster b 1934). Ensemble again, The Glits snap fingers and deliver a modern American version of an original spiritual tune. 'Walkin round heaven in ma golden shoes / walkin with ma Jesus'. Subtle chording and counter-singing.
Dream Valley (Roger Quilter 1916). Performer - Solo. Soloist Sarah Jones handles the first of Quilter's Three Songs of William Blake with an easy confidence. Her finely-defined voice evokes the subtle emotions of the song, concluding 'with silent melancholy'.
Soave Sia il Vento (Mozart. Opera - Così fan tutte - Act One). Performers - Trio. A song that could be an anthem to curry-eaters after a heavy night at the boozer - 'May the wind blow softly, the waves be calm, and all the elements respond with kindness to our desires' - originates from Mozart, a lad who made his own terminal discoveries about food-poisoning. This Soave's customarily served warm, and a trio of Glits deliver it with enthusiasm.
Dancing (Mechtild of Magdeburg (13th Century) paraphrased by Scott A Tucker 1957). First of two unaccompanied songs from the ensemble Glits. Glits Stage Left sing 'pa-to-dum / pat-tee-di-dum' in the background; Stage Centre sing against the rhythm, Stage Right deliver the foreground vocal. 'I stumble and tumble' passes between Stage Left and Right. It's intricate, and it rocks.
The Maid On The Shore (Music - Stella Goud b 1960. Words - Traditional Newfoundland).
The Glits pass the song around amongst themselves, delivering the story-line, syncopating, and singing against it. It's complex and fun. 'Down she lay / let the winds blow high and low'. At the end, up-stage, there's a loud crash. This time the laying may be permanent.
Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ (Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Busoni). Piano solo - Ken Taylor. Taylor delivers Bach's historic Chorale for organ on piano, with faultless power and precision.
Irish Tune From County Derry (P Grainger). Piano solo - Ken Taylor. The melody-line's better known as 'Danny Boy'. Taylor renders the full-bodied arrangement with panache, assisted skillfully by his elegant and dutiful page-turner.
Magnificat (6 Movements) (Lana Walter b 1948). The Glits graced the stage till now in long black dresses, red scarves and sashes. Absent during the piano solos, they return in black and purple to present a Magnificat - the title commonly given to the Latin text and vernacular translation of the Canticle / Song of the Virgin Mary.
Informed by God's messenger that she will bear the Son of God, Mary replies: 'My soul doth magnify (praise) the Lord, be it done unto me according to His will'. It's a modern-sounding Magnificat, presented here in 6 parts:
Magnificat (i). Various lead voices sing the opening stanza - 'Magnificat anima mea, Dominum'/'My soul doth magnify the Lord' - and separate for the next - 'Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo'/'And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour'.
They continue: 'Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae'/'He has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden'/'Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes'/'For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed'.
Magnificat (ii). 'Quia fecit mihi magna, qui potens est, et sanctum nomen eius'/'He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name'. The elegant division and combination of song-lines progressively reveals a classical core to the musical structure.
Magnificat (iii). 'Et misericordia eius in progenies et progenies timentibus eum'/'And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation'/'Fecit potentiam in brachio suo dispersit superbos mente cordis sui'/'He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts'.
A soloist takes the lead, the Glits as a choir repeat and develop her themes. 'Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles'/'He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree'. Good news for anyone scraping a third after that punishing extra year at Edinburgh University.
'Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes'/'He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away'.
Magnificat (iv). 'Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros'/'As He spoke to our fathers'/'Abraham et semini eius in saecula'/'To Abraham and to his descendants for ever'.
Magnificat (v). 'Suscepit Israel puerum suum memorari misericordiae'/'He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy'. The Glits rearrange for this fragment.
Magnificat (vi). 'Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto'/'Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit'/'Sicut erat in principio'/'As it was in the beginning'/'et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum'/'Is now and shall be for ever'/'Amen'.
The Glits rearrange into 2 choirs, to Stage Left and Right, for this superb climactic piece. They pass the phrases from one choir to the other, augmenting it. Their Magnificat concludes on a full-strength and harmonically excellent Amen.
Nocturne Opus 15 No 1 (Chopin). Piano solo - Ken Taylor. Taylor returns with an authoritative account of Chopin's complex and satisfying Op 15 No 1, with its excellent burst of sudden loudness.
Forgotten Dreams (1954. Leroy Anderson 1908-75). Piano solo - Ken Taylor. Taylor presents a lively and familiar piece by the gifted American composer of light concert music, well known for 'The Typewriter'.
He Was Beautiful / Cavatina (1976. Music - Stanley Myers. Words - Cleo Lane). Under cover of Ken Taylor's fine piano solos, The Glits effect another costume change, and re-emerge here with gold sashes for 'slightly more modern songs' - unaccompanied.
'He was beautiful to my eyes / the moment I saw him, the sun filled my eyes'. It concludes melodiously and romantically with the uncontradictable 'It's beautiful to be loved'.
The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Performers - Duet. A powerfully-voiced duo of Glits delivers this fine song, accompanied.
From A Distance (1987. Music and lyrics - Julie Gold. Arranged - Teena Chinn). Performers - The Glits with Moira Gibson. Musical director Gibson joins the massed Glits in Julie Gold's classic feelgood pop song. Gibson has a fine jazzy voice, an actress's rich musical stage voice, that stamps authority on the delivery of this imaginative arrangement. She sings several solo parts, and the choir responds and develops. There's explosive applause.
Both Sides Now (1967. Music and lyrics - Joni Mitchell. Arranged - John Coates Junior). Massed Glits deliver a lively arrangement of this Joni Mitchell classic, which draws comparisons between clouds and the illusions of life. A nice beat pause before the final ('I really don't know clouds ...') '... at all', and a subtle taper to silence, concludes it with élan.
How Do I Love Thee? Performers - Quartet. Four Glits sing jazz. 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.' The four take turns with the lead vocals, and join together. It's unaccompanied, and pitch is an occasional stranger. But as its atonal jazz, who's to say?
I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair. (Music - Richard Rodgers. Lyrics - Oscar Hammerstein II). Performers - Quartet. The jazz quartet delivers a classic, unaccompanied, and without shampoo.
In The Mood (1939. Joe Garland. Arranged - Peter Gritton). Performers - The Glits with Moira Gibson. It's a fine finale, Gibson kicks it off, pa-pahing the melody line and The Glits pick it up, snapping fingers and swinging their arms. It's do-be-do-dah-be-do-do-a, mainly, except the words 'In the mood', and choreographed rather sexily.
The Glits perform tonight in the elegant oval room of St Cecilia's Hall. Fine acoustics, and an architecturally distinguished occulus above provide a fine setting for a display of musical excellence. Daylight retreats slowly during the performance, and wall-bracketed candelabra fade up, creating a mood of quiet intimacy.
The often-repeated dig that The Fringe is London performing to London is floored tonight by a 100% Scottish (with a touch of Antipodes) act. The audience is 99.9% Scottish, an Edinburgh cultural elite looking most like a massed audition for Dr Finlay's Casebook and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Three small children endure most of the evening in silence or sleep, with sharp bursts of vocal protest.
It's said the Scottish educational system is second to none. This may literally be true for arithmetic on tonight's evidence, with an audience member applauding the 6-part Magnificat one song too early. Budget cuts from the devolved Assembly may have capped counting at 5.
The Glits are 23 Edinburgh women of dazzling beauty, from 20s to more mature ladies guaranteed to inflame boys looking for a Mrs Robinson-type experience. They model a variety of elegant costumes this evening, and sing with a crisp and sultry delight.
The Glits (alpha order): Elspeth Badger, Irene Carter, Nancy Davidson, Clare Dillon, Avril Fordyce, Margaret Foster, Vicki Greenwood, Sharon Hutton, Helga Janzen, Sarah Jones, Mary Lee, Alison McDonald, Jo MacDonald, Donna MacKenzie, Rona McKie, Gail McMullan, Wendy Mejka, Carol Paton, Fiona Robertson, Joanne Sibbald, Anthea Taylor, Hazel Williams, Helen Wilson.
Madrigal Group: Elspeth Badger, Nancy Davidson, Avril Fordyce, Margaret Foster, Vicki Greenwood, Mary Lee, Carol Paton, Hazel Williams. Soloist: Sarah Jones. Trio: Sharon Hutton, Alison McDonald, Wendy Mejka. Duet: Margaret Foster, Helga Janzen. Quartet: Jo MacDonald, Rona McKie, Wendy Mejka, Joanne Sibbald.
Musical Director: Moira Gibson. Pianist: Ken Taylor. Page Turner - Anonymous.
END
John Park
reviewed Tuesday 27 August 02 / St Cecilia's Hall, Cowgate
Concert performed in aid of The Edinburgh Cyrenians
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
