Description
Scottish-Korean cellist Su-a Lee (Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Mr. McFall’s Chamber) collaborates in a series of 15 duos with:
fiddle players Donald Grant, Duncan Chisholm, Jenna Reid, Patsy Reid and Pekka Kuusisto; pianists Donald Shaw and James Ross; flautist Hamish Napier; harper Maeve Gilchrist; bandoneonist Carel Kraayenhof; accordionist Phil Cunningham; Scots singer Karine Polwart; Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis; and fellow cellist Natalie Haas.
Says Su-a…
“Playing solo is not really my thing. I am energised by working with other people, especially these people. I didn’t want my debut solo album to be about me taking the limelight. This album celebrates the musician featured on each track. Each piece reveals something of their roots, identity and inspirations, while also striking a chord with me.”
“Much of our development for each track on the album was done in full lockdown. During the early stages, I couldn’t meet any of the musicians in person. This posed a major challenge to the collaborative process. The situation really forced me to develop new skills in transcribing, notating, arranging and recording music on my computer by myself – a steep learning curve for a techie Luddite such as me! This was made all the harder by the fact that, as an orchestral string player, I seldom make music on my own.”
“So, I made myself a little study-come-home-studio in Grantown-on-Spey and many recordings were sent back and forth across the whole of Scotland, as well as the Netherlands, Canada, New York and Finland.”
“The cello is the original Scottish folk rhythm section instrument, long before guitars, pianos and drumkits were ever on the scene. The leading fiddle players of their day, Neil Gow and later, Peter Milne, both had cellists that toured with them. After going out of fashion for many decades, the cello is undergoing a renaissance/revival, particularly through influential mavericks such as Natalie Haas, who appears on this album.”
“As much as this album is about finding my own voice and a voice for Scottish folk cello in general, it is also about the interaction of two voices.”
“Welcome to our dialogue.”
With love, Su-a
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.