I met Fergus Hall during my time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS). He first heard me sing during a freshers opening concert hosted by Principal Jeffrey Sharkey. Fergus contacted a while back discussing the idea of a piece of music he wanted to compose that included a male scots singer.
The idea eventually came to fruition in 2020 but was postponed due to the current pandemic. We got to perform it at the RCS and finally we were able to finish recording this year. I’ll let Fergus Hall explain a little bit more about his piece of music:
“Shores is a piece for jazz ensemble, folk singer and string orchestra in four movements. During my undergrad degree I spent a lot of time researching and talking about the relationship between jazz, Scottish traditional music and classical music. This research mainly spoke about other people’s music which is music I love and am really inspired by but at that time the music I was composing myself was largely separate from this. When I went to the RCS to study a masters in composition, I had plans to create some kind of large scale piece that brought together all of these elements in a way that was unapologetic, representative of my musical identity and the music I am most inspired by. The piece spans my two years spent at the RCS, writing and performing it in my first year and then recording it in my second year. For me it documents a very formative couple of years.
The text that runs through the piece is by Sorley MacLean. I first became aware of MacLean’s work through the work of Martyn Bennett, another huge influence in my work. Sorley MacLean makes an appearance on Bothy Culture reciting his poem “Hallaig”. I am really drawn to the way that MacLean uses imagery of expansive landscapes to express deeply intimate feelings of love and longing. The four poems in Shores are a small part of a huge work of poetry called Dàin do Eimhir that intertwines themes of love, history, the politics of pre-WWII Europe and the landscape of MacLean home on Skye and Raasay. I am really grateful that the project received some support and encouragement from the Sorley MacLean Trust whose board members include members of Sorley MacLean’s immediate family.
This is a piece I have been dreaming about making for a long time and it was made possible by some truly exceptional musicians. Some of them I have known and admired for several years, some I came to know over the course of writing, performing and recording the piece, and some I met on the day of recording. Editing this footage really brought it home to me just how unbelievably skilled and creative every single one of them is, bringing a huge amount of energy and commitment to every single take. I feel really fortunate as a composer to know musicians like this who are willing to get on board with your crazy project.”
You can hear the entire album for free at Shores | Fergus Hall (bandcamp.com)