FIRELIGHT TRIO (SCOTLAND)
EUROPEAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC PERFORMED BY AN ENDLESSLY EXCITING ACOUSTIC TRIO
NYCKELHARPA PLAYER RUTH MORRIS, FIDDLER GAVIN MARWICK AND PIANIST AND ACCORDIONIST PHIL ALEXANDER HAVE TRANSFORMED EUROPEAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC INTO AN UNPRECEDENTED BEAUTY
So much musical beauty that you won't know how to handle is hard to hear. Played in the most traditional sense of the word. After all, we only see three musicians on stage with three instruments, although in this case the numbers are quite relative, because if you covered your eyes you would think there were at least twice as many, not to mention the instruments. But if it isn't the fact that nyckelharpa player Ruth Morris, violinist Gavin Marwick and pianist and accordionist Phil Alexander sit on the stage: interlocked in a trinity and renowned for their ability to turn simplicity into monumental contemplative musical images. They have brought to them breathtaking colour, virtuosity, instrumental adventure and, above all, the feeling that you are entering the plot of an imaginary film in which you are comfortable, even though all the time you are squirming in your chair with impatience as to how it will all turn out and, in more than one case, wishing the film had never ended. The trio's previous experiences with Scottish, Breton, Swedish, Baltic and Eastern European Jewish music are beautifully woven into its varied plot. Dance rhythms are interspersed with beautiful and above all unusual harmonies, cheerful melancholy, and the joy of the game shines over everything like the sun. Phil Alexander dazzled at the Folk Festival with Moishe's Bagel, so we know he is no stranger to any genre.
The partner duo, Ruth Morris and Gavin Marwick, have been playing together for years and to list all their bands and projects is quite a task. In any case, they are among the sought-after instrumental and songwriting stars in Scotland, and when their close friend Phil approached them after a cover band to come and play European traditional music with him, they didn't hesitate to do anything other than their usual. Then, with last year's debut album, they didn't even bother with a title: so sure were they that they would impress with their extraordinary music. And of course they did.
Photo: Kim Ayres
