Maelasta Concert Kirkton Church 23 January 2011

Over 90 people came out to Kirkton Church on the afternoon of 23 January, shaking off the late Winter chill and seeking the warmth of live music with a like minded audience at the third Kirkmahoe Concert. There is no doubt that some of us were not quite sure what to expect. But what followed exceeded most of our expectations.

Matthew McCallister (guitar) and Feargus Hetherington (violin) are graduates of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where they met as students. They play under the name Maelasta. With wit and intelligence they took us though a programme of duets and solo pieces that spanned the classical world, contemporary composition, Scottish traditional and tango. For some it was the 18th and 19th century pieces by Molino, Paganini and Gragnani that stirred the spirit. Others were taken to another place by the solo guitar performance of Cuban composer Leo Brouwer’s Suite Number 2. The duet on Libertango was also outstanding. Then there were beautiful performances of Scottish tunes: by Chris Stout (who will be playing at Kirkmahoe in late May), by Ronald Stevenson (once the Rev Almond’s music teacher, we learned) and not forgetting Peter Maxwell Davies’ much-loved Farewell to Stromness.

Matthew and Feargus explained the pieces, joked with the audience and each other and then switched effortlessly to playing of great virtuosity and passion. We liked them and loved their music. At the end the applause rang on, the feet were stomping and there were cries for more. The encore was a very well received piece by Django Reinhardt. Then to finish off, Feargus played Ae Fond Kiss, unaccompanied and unadorned. The audience hummed along beautifully, content with the feast of music they had enjoyed.
Tea and cakes followed, kindly organised by members of the Church. We got to chat to the musicians and linger on for a while. It was great way to spend an afternoon in January. And also time to look forward to the next Kirkmahoe Concert on 26 March, when the Joel Allison Quartet will play a set of ‘chamber jazz’ in the beautiful surroundings of the Barony Church!
Hamnataing

A'e Gowden