Letters / Visceral and sublime
The Waas boating club resounds to the persistent left hand beat of a concert harp.
The ancient sound reverberates through the wooden boards of the boating club out to the dark tinted roof to the Voe beyond.
It’s visceral, heart beating and sublime.
Tim Matthew’s concert tour featuring Kirstie Law and Esther Swift were introduced (last night) by local Shetland duo Emily Johnson and Tazmyn Brown on fiddle, their broad dialect lending an authenticity to the introduction of atmospheric Border Scots balladeer Kirstie Law.
Her rendering of Green Grow the Rashes O fair brought a tear to an Auld man’s ee.
But it was Esther’s virtuoso harp performance combining percussive bass lines, lyrical voicing and undulating topnotes that plucked the heartstrings.
Get yourselves to Hymhus at Bigton for the afternoon performance (Sunday, 4pm) – you will not be disappointed.
Dave Hammond
Reawick
