The idea of music as force for peace, love and understanding isn’t new but The Gathering Quartet have explicitly put it into practice on their eponymous album. The four members represent Scotland (Luisa Brown), Ukraine (Olena Yeremenko), England (Louis Bingham) and Sweden (Mats Nystam). They don’t necessarily live in their native countries and so can genuinely call themselves multinational. Their music is that of an unconventional string quartet: no cello but with nyckelharpa, cittern and bouzouki and sometimes with a classical feel and, needless to say, all four are accomplished musicians.
The opening set is ‘Vals på Rokkelåven – Of Bare Roots And Buckthorn’, composed by Nystam and Bingham, thus combining Sweden and England in a sprightly waltz and a 5/4 step-dance tune – a pair of tunes, actually. We continue in Scandinavia with a set beginning with a hornpipe and tunes labelled in the “efter” style – I can never work out whether that refers to a title or an attribution – and carry on with the delightful ‘Blodmåne – H Moll Valsen’. In a similar gentle vein is ‘The Goyle’ which originated on Dartmoor.
To Ukraine now for the traditional and rather jolly ‘Freylachs Beregovski 91’ and back to Sweden for Mats’ rather mournful ‘Den Vita Älgen’ about a white oak tree threatened with execution. A pair of polkas, ‘Missy Of The Mhor – Polka In The Palace’, the second by Brown, serve to restore some cheer to the proceedings and the quartet reinforce the mood with three traditional Ukrainian polkas followed by ‘Khaitarma’ a traditional dance tune from Crimea dating from before the deportation of 1944. Finally, Luisa Brown’s ‘Evening Swell’ is a pastoral piece which brings the album to a close in the summer sunset.
As you have discerned there is a huge variety of moods and styles on display here – a delightful listening experience with nothing to frighten the horses. A summer sunset would be a perfect time to play it.
Dai Jeffries
Artists’ website: https://thegatheringquartet.bandcamp.com/album/the-gathering-quartet
‘Blodmåne – H Moll Valsen’ – official video:
Thanks for stopping by. Please help us continue and support us by tipping/donating to folking.com via
You must be logged in to post a comment.