Flower of Scotland
The band performed at a sold-out Rutherglen Town Hall on Friday 14th November. With St. Andrews Day at the end of the month in mind, the band performed a programme of Scottish music to an enthusiastic audience.
Special guests for the night were Callander Chorale, a female voice choir from Callander led by Ian Milligan. The choir performed an entertaining set of songs with a Scottish flavour including the Rowan Tree, Marie's Wedding, The Dashing White Sergeant, and finishing off with John Rutter's Gaelic Blessing.
The band, conducted by Chris Bradley, took to the stage for the second half and opened with Scotland's unofficial national anthem, and the title track to the concert, Flower of Scotland.
With the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns in mind, the next item on the programme was Peter Graham's medley of Burns songs, Alloway Tales, with narration by Lewis McCabe. Following this was another Burns song, Roses for a Princess, more commonly known as Ye Banks and Braes, heavily featuring Scott Law on flugel horn.
Film music followed, with horn player Gillian Aitken playing the theme from Local Hero, written by Mark Knopfler. Staying on the film theme, the next piece was A Braveheart Suite, Andrew Duncan's arrangement of a selection from James Horner's musical score for perhaps the most famous Scottish film of all.
The penultimate item on the programme was Amazing Grace, a piece which was actually taken to the top of the UK singles chart in 1972 by the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The band captured the sound of the bagpipes in playing William Himes' beautiful arrangement.
The finale to the evening's concert was Dundonnell, from Philip Sparke's suite Hymn of the Highlands. Although this is a piece of orignal brass band music, it references the increasingly popular Highland Cathedral, and was certainly a stirring way to finish the concert.
But there was still time for an encore, and a medley of Scottish tunes entitled Skirl was just the right thing to send the audience home with their feet tapping!
7/12/08
