reviews & press clips
Debussy’s Dances sacrée et profane for harp and string orchestra was a softly alluring invitation to the dance; the sweetly radiant strings tempting the listener in, before Sharron Griffiths’s harp took over with delicate droplets of sound, carefully placed and nicely balanced with the strings.
Royal Northern Sinfonia, Sage Gateshead 16th January 2018 Backtrack ****
This imaginative programme revealed yet again the versatility of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and ideally suited the highly talented conductor, Je/ssica Cottis, whose flamboyant conducting style drew some fine playing from the orchestra. Harpist, Sharron Griffiths, produced lovely delicate sounds from her harp in a sensitive performance of Debussy’s sensuous Danse sacrée et danse profane.
Royal Northern Sinfonia, Westmoreland Hall, Kendal 20th January 2018
We were treated to a fine harp cadenza by Sharron Griffiths
Tam Pollard, Where is Runnicles
The harp of Sharron Griffiths glittered in texture
Fife Today
Pleyel’s new pedal-free, chromatic harp occasioned such a need and Debussy’s commissioning resulted in Danses sacrée et profane. There are typical Debussy trademarks such as parallel and whole-tone harmony, and some lovely lush string writing as the work emerges from faux-ecclesiastical modality into more coquettish profanity. The soloist, the excellent Sharron Griffiths, has been very impressive in this festival.
Alan Coady, Bachtrack
My nearest instructor in this was the fantastic harpist Sharron Griffiths, ably assisted by Ravel. Who better to illustrate the harp’s contribution to colour, diction and punctuation than this master orchestrator.
Alan Coady, Bachtrack
Danse sacrée et danse profane by Debussy was shot through with warm immediacy and silvery movement
The Scotsman
Solo recital- Hospitalfield Arts Arbroath, 1st July 2017
Dear Sharron
What a very wonderful evening Saturday was thanks to you and your playing and the very wonderful choices of music.
There has been such wonderful feedback, everyone so enjoyed your playing and all the interesting information you gave about the harp and the background you gave for each of your choices. I thought the addition of the Benjamin Britten was fantastic!
The audience was so mixed with our more ‘mature’ friends and supporters and also the artists who were here at the start of their residency. They all enjoyed the evening as much as each other for all sorts of different reasons.
What a wonderful way to give the harp back some life and now we have created an expectation for more and I do hope that we will be able to talk about this in the future when you are not quite so busy. Please do get in touch when you can.
Thank you very much
Best wishes
Lucy Byatt
Director
Hospitalfield House
Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus: A Ceremony of Carols, December 2016
Benjamin Britten, journeying back from America with Peter Pears in 1942, picked up a book of old English poetry when the cargo boat called into Halifax. The words inspired his extraordinary A Ceremony of Carols set for upper voices and harp. Like his church parables, the work is bookended with plainchant, and the singers processed down the aisle singing the strange Alleluias. It is a work of simple melodies and Chorus director and conductor Gregory Batsleer emphasised the contrasts with a strident Wolcum Yole full of attack and bite, to the more reflective In Freezing Winter Night with its resolving dissonances. Two choral scholars, soprano Georgina Malcolm and alto Amanda MacLeod took walk out solos, blending perfectly in duet with Malcolm’s sweet bell-clear top notes soaring in That yongë child. Sharron Griffiths’ haunting harp intertwined beautifully with the singers, adding a brittle wintry tone.
**** David Smythe, 17 December 2016, Bachtrack
Bardic Trio, Inverurie January 2017
BARDIC TRIO EARNS A STANDING OVATION
On Saturday, 11th February in St Mary’s Church, Inverurie Music presented the Bardic Trio in its first concert of the New Year. Jamie MacDougall (tenor), Sharron Griffiths (harp) and Matthew McAllister (guitar) entertained a capacity audience with a medleyof songs, pieces and poetry from the British Isles with a Celtic flavour.
Jamie MacDougall is well known in broadcasting circles. He presents ‘Grace Notes’ and ‘Classics Unwrapped’ and has anchored the BBC Proms in the Park as part of the Last Night of the Proms Festivities. Three songs by Alasdair Nicolson (b 1961) were a suitable launching pad for his singing in terms of compass, expression and communication with the audience.
Matthew is widely appreciated as a classical guitarist throughout Europe. As an effective contrast, he held the audience spellbound with his rendition of ‘Farewell to Stromness’ by Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016). This was originally written for piano. In the arrangement he delighted the audience with his mastery of his instrument and his sensuous and lingering evocation of the emotions of the title.
Another change of mood came as we were led by Sharron Griffiths from the calm and grey tides of Orkney to the lush landscape of the Welsh valleys. In a cascade of arpeggios, she displayed the powerand brilliance of her concert pedal harp with an introductory piece, “Watching the Wheat”, by John Thomas (1826-1913). This was followed by a selection of traditional melodies and songs, two of which were arranged by Eddie McGuire. Jamie gave a splendid rendition of an extract from the well-loved ‘Under Milk Wood.’
Thomas Moore (1779-1852) was a poet, singer and satirist that can lay claim to being the Irish counterpart of Robert Burns. His best-known songs were, like Burns, traditional songs fashioned with his own lyrics, but he also wrote his own material and was a very popular singer in and around London. Smiles were noticed on many a face when Jamie “unearthed” three familiar songs in his cheerful style, especially “Minstrel Boy”.
The Eddie McGuire arrangements of Burns songs were a fitting end to the concert. As the instruments were tuned up between numbers, Jamie made some wistful observations about a nearby village (which shall remain nameless) in his Glaswegian off-the- cuff style of humour. By this time the audience knew what to expect in terms of musicality: beautiful contrasts of colour, from the delicate caress of ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ to the racing triplets of ‘The De’il’s awa’ wi’ th’ exciseman.’ It concluded with a stalwart ‘For a’that an a’ that’ and as an encore ‘Castle Gordon.’ A standing ovation gave them top marks but it has to be said that every mark should be doubled for the Trio’s interaction with the audience, injecting life into live music.
Finally, thanks are due to the volunteers of St Mary’s Church for providing teas and cakes at the interval.
A.Massey
BARDIC TRIO, SUNDAY 22nd January 2017
What a start to Cowal Music Club’s first live concert of 2017 when the Bardic Trio, Jamie MacDougall, tenor, Sharron Griffiths, harp and Matthew McAllister, guitar, played to a packed Hanover Street Hall last Sunday afternoon. Their professionalism and musicianship certainly cheered the audience up on a dreach Sunday afternoon.
They opened with three Burn’s songs arranged by Scottish composer Eddie McGuire, who is no stranger to Cowal Music Club. He was the composer that the club commissioned to commemorate the club’s 70 years a couple of years ago and he enjoys coming to be part of the audience whenever artists play his compositions.
The Trio started with ‘The Winter It Is Past’ which introduced the audience to Jamie’s agile voice capable of seamless transitions from lower register to mellifluous high register. He then followed with ‘The De’ils Awa Wi’ The Exciseman’ when his voice rang out with thrilling intensity and, finely, hefinished with a heartfelt interpretation of ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ that displayed a variety of tone including singing of the finest delicacy showing richness and the ability to convey feelings. Eddie’s arrangement, without a doubt, was melodic and so accomplished and the trio’s playing flawless.
Matthew’s playing ‘Farewell to Stromness’ by Peter Maxwell Davies was mesmerising and riveting.
Next it was Sharron’s turn who introduced the audience to a selection of Welsh songs opening with a breathtaking harp performance of John Thomas’s ‘Watching The Wheat’
The first half finished with a haunting interpretation of ‘ArHyd Y Nos’ ( All through the Night), again arranged by EddeMcGuire, and sung by Jamie with elegant phrasing and haunting effects.
The second half started with a selection of Irish pieces beginning with ‘My Gentle Harp’ played by Matthew and ending with Jamie’s rendition of ‘Minstrel Boy’ by Thomas Moore.
The concert finished with a selection of songs by Burns, again arranged by Eddie McGuire, starting with ‘Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie’, ‘The Slaves Lament’ and the wonderful but highly emotional ‘For All That An’ All That’ that produced a wonderful combination of harp, guitar and tenor. The ovation from the audience said it all as they stamped their feet and clapped refusing to let the Trio leave the stage.
KAREN KEITH, The Buteman Monday 23 January 2017 Bardic Trio
One concert-goer remarked that she’d “Never forget this evening” - a sentiment surely shared by all who attended Bardic Trio’s performance on Friday. The ensemble - comprising Scottish tenor Jamie McDougall, Welsh harpist Sharron Griffiths, and Scottish guitarist Matthew McAllister - treated the Rothesay audience to s election of Celtic works which proved to be the perfect remedy to a cold winter’s night on Bute. The Bardic Trio in action in Trinity Church on Friday evening. Introducing the trio, Jamie remarked that they were delighted to be on Bute, joking that they’d turned down the opportunity to perform at the new US President’s inauguration to be there! Although Jamie apologised for the cold he was suffering from, it was hardly noticable as he, Sharron and Matthew launched into Robert Burn’s ‘Ae Fond Kiss’. Performed with real sensitivity and feeling, it was clear to see why the trio is held in such high regard Jamie’s vocals were crisp and clear, and a delight to hear in the superb acoustics of Rothesay’s Trinity Church.
Solo performances from both Matthew and Sharron were among some of the evening’s highlights. Matthew’s rendition of ‘Farewell to Stromness’ was both soothing and measured and demonstrated the depth of emotion in the music. Sharron, paying tribute to her Welsh roots, played John Thomas’ ‘Watching the Wheat’. A stunning, delicate performance of a tragic love story played expertly by Sharron. Other combinations of the trio saw Matthew and Sharron team up to perform ‘Clychae Aberdyfi’, a traditional Welsh song, and ‘The Meeting of the Waters’, which is an Irish song by Thomas Moore.
Among the evening’s highlights, without a doubt, were the trio’s performances of the works of Burns. Jamie’s high-energy rendition of ‘Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie’ was a real treat and left many in amazement at how he was able to catch his breath in time for each verse! But it was ‘A Man’s a Man for A That’ which stole the show. Jamie himself remarked that the song “should be taken up by the world as an anthem”, and the ensemble’s performance of that particular piece was a prime example of the power and beauty of the song.
The next concert in Bute Arts Society’s winter programme will be held on Friday, February 17, and features the Roxburgh Quartet (string quartet). Tickets are £8, free to students, and the concert begins at 7.30pm. Mark it in your diaries now!
Read more at: http://www.buteman.co.uk/whats-on/music/an-unforgettable-evening-with-the-bardic-trio-1-4346402
Clyde Duo, Music in Rannoch 2013
"The audience rightly loved it and thought that it was one of our best concerts ever.
Your playing is quite breathtaking, not only in virtuosity but also in beauty"
Echo Chamber Ensemble, Kickaldy Music Society 2013
On November 6th the Society welcomed the Echo Chamber Ensemble. This Trio of Ruth Morley, Flute; Hannah Craib, Viola and Sharron Griffiths, Harp played a selection of Duos and Trios. Ruth studied at the RSAMD and now teaches there. Hannah was born in Fife, studied at the Royal College of Music and played in the Alba String Quartet for four years. Sharron was born in Wales, attended the RNCM and now teaches at the Royal Conservatoire. Their programme started with Arnold Bax's Elegiac Trio and continued with Vincent Persichetti's Serenade No 10 for Flute and Harp. The first half ended with William Mathias' Zodiac Trio. After the interval, the Trio played Ibert's Deux Interludes, then Hannah sat out for the Duo, Danse Lente Op 65 by Joseph Jongen. The concert ended with the Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp by Debussy. The music may have been unfamiliar, but the sound was glorious and each item was introduced by a Trio member in a relaxed manner.
Lammermuir Festival
Monday 23 September 2013 National Youth Choir of Scotland: ROSENNA EAST, the Herald Three stars
The start of the Saturday evening's concert by the National Girls Choir of the National Youth Choir of Scotland was heralded by the golden sound of festival artist-in-residence Alec Frank-Gemmill's french horn playing, echoing round the warm church with the Prologue from Britten's Serenade For Tenor Horn And Strings.
This surprise introduction led us to the programmed start of the concert - Britten's Missa Brevis in D-major from the Girls Choir. Which meant we moved from the last F-natural of the Serenade to the opening F-sharp of the Missa Brevis with something of a jolt. But NYCoS is rightly a phenomenon of the Scottish musical world at the moment, under the direction of Christopher Bell, and one was soon lost in admiration for its diction, control and blended sound, if not moved.
Four Chorale Preludes from Brahms Op 122, played by John Kitchen at the organ, challenged the audience to settle its attention on the different sounds of this instrument, before the choir returned with Brahms: Four Songs from Op 17.
Written for choir, two horns and harp, this instrumentation was also the bedrock of a new commission from William Sweeney, Four Songs from The Singin' Lass. Beginning with atmospheric low harp from Sharon Griffiths, and featuring lovely solo voices above the choir, the concert suddenly came to life. Sweeney's third movement, The Blue Jacket was another special moment, where time dissolved in suspended lines, though we heard less of the gripping text by Scots poet Marion Angus as a result.
Britten's Ceremony Of Carols with it's magical final Recession, closed the concert. Performed with exemplary skill and focus, with many serenely pure beautiful phrases, it needed more drama, joy and triumph.
Classical review: Lammermuir Festival - The Scotsman, Ken Walton
Saturday’s evening concert by the NYCoS National Girls Choir in St Mary’s Haddington was a programme revolving ingeniously around the instrumental presence of harp, horns and organ. That enabled director Christopher Bell to include works imbedded in the choir’s repertoire – Britten’s Missa Brevis and A Ceremony of Carols – and to give a rare outing to Brahms’s Four Songs, Op 17 for female voices, horns and harp, and to premiere the similarly scored Four Songs from the Singin’ Lass, a festival commission by William Sweeney.
Sweeney’s handling of Scots poet Marion Angus’s words is simple and delicate, its instrumental underlay subtle and suggestive.This performance drew out the dreamy mystical Scottish elements in the music, not least in the distant clustered harmonies of Huntlie Hill. And it gave liquid flow to the music’s narrative aspirations.
It was also a neat nudge away from the sweet and harmonious Teutonic romanticism of the Brahms, sung with ripe precision, and the unmistakable lustre of the Britten.
There was a strange but effective moment at the start of the concert, where the Missa Brevis was prefaced by Alec Frank-Gemmill playing the solo horn Prologue from Britten’s Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. Whether that – being a semitone removed in key – led to the initial flagging in the choir’s intonation matters little, as the performance quickly grew in confidence.
Moreover, John Kitchen was inventive in his handling of the austere Haddington organ, following that up with four of Brahms’s Chorale Preludes as a neat solo segue into the Brahms songs. Despite its unseasonal presence, A Ceremony of Carols was a ringing conclusion, as much for Sharon Griffiths’ unshakeable harp playing as the choir’s buoyant singing.
RSNO Chamber Soiree, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
CONRAD WILSON, The Scotsman
16 Mar 2009
Star rating: ****
Chamber concerts from the RSNO are rarities, and this one was a present to the orchestra's Edinburgh supporters who have been deprived of seats in the Usher Hall this season. Though the programme started in well-established musical territory with Mozart's Oboe Quartet and the most famous of Shostakovich's string quartets (the war-haunted No 8), it moved thereafter into more specialised realms with Ginastera's Argentinian Impresiones de la Puna for flute and strings, Debussy's Danses Sacrees et Profanes, Britten's Phantasy Quartet and, finally, the sumptuous glitter of Ravel's great Introduction and Allegro.
It was a scrupulously devised evening, and it worked a treat. The chance to hear expert RSNO players in music outwith their normal repertoire was an opportunity well worth seizing. Emmanuel Laville, the French-born principal oboe, played the Mozart with keen refinement, not least in the passage where the music goes deliberately off-track in the finale. Though the Shostakovich demanded fiercer attack, the Ginastera lacked nothing in South American lilt. Debussy's dances, with harpist Sharron Griffiths, were swayingly atmospheric, and the soft, dark, faintly Mahlerish march rhythms of the early Britten (it would have been good also to hear his solo Harp Suite) were subtly caught.
But it was the Ravel, with its marvellous flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet timbres, which shimmeringly capped the evening. Here was a work which chamber ensembles tend to sidestep unless they can find the right players for the occasion.
Gig review: MacDougall & Friends, Glasgow ****
By KENNETH WALTON
MacDougall & Friends - Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow Published on 13/06/2013 02:57
Last night’s early evening concert was a relaxed affair. The title itself – Jamie MacDougall and Friends – suggested as much. But it was the thread of folk music, and a manner of presentation to match it, that gave an air of congeniality to the hour-long programme.
At the centre of things was MacDougall himself, a Scots tenor with a couthie charm, talking us through a musical journey that began in Mexico and Paraguay, and ended in Scotland by way of England and Wales. Helping him on his way were guitarist Matthew McAllister and harpist Sharron Griffiths. In various combinations, they coloured songs by Mexicans Francisco Pichardo and Manuel Ponce (his heartfelt Por ti mi Carazón the most compellingly delivered) with an elusive passion, as well as Paraguayan instrumental numbers by Augustin Barrios and Alfredo Ortiz.
English and Welsh folk song arrangements by Britten – accompanied respectively by guitar and harp – gave MacDougall plenty of opportunities to slip into appropriate character modes, and to force out their charm above Britten’s rather stylised accompaniments.
But the real treat of the evening was Eddie McGuire’s exquisite arrangements of songs by Robert Burns, one of them – Ae Fond Kiss, with its clever conversation of harmonics announcing the theme in the instrumental intro, and the unforced boldness of its harmonic underlay – an absolute corker. Another gem was the Slave’s Lament, shot through with a weird Orientalism that captured the sultriness of the text – McGuire at his best.
Echo Chamber Ensemble, Inverurie Music
The Echo Chamber Ensemble, Ruth Morley (flute), Hannah Craib (viola) and Sharron Griffiths (harp), gave an interesting and accomplished concert last Saturday at St Mary's Episcopal Church in Inverurie. The concert was part of the Sound Festival, a festival that features contemporary music. We were fortunate in hearing three brand new compositons. One of these was by student Milly Holroyd who was present to hear her piece and give a bow to the audience.
The use of flute, viola and harp is a particularly expressive combination. It came into vogue in France at the turn of the 20th Century, where its colour and texture mirrored the art of the impressionists. The Echo Chamber Ensemble displayed their mastery of this classic repertoire with a number of pieces from this era, including the Elegiac Trio by Arnold Bax and Claude Debussy's Sonata, which began and ended the recital. They were composed within a few months of each other in 1916. Although Bax was born an Englishman in a leafy London suburb, he fell in love with Ireland, as can be traced in the Celtic qualities in this musical response to the Easter Rising. Debussy's work was composed towards the end of his life, when he was affected by the war and his personal depression. In this richly expressive but economic work, the performance conveyed the moods with a compass of tone and dynamics that were superbly balanced.
The programme broadened to other works from the later 20th Century. TheSerenade by Vincent Persichetti showed how much could be achieved with little material and this was followed by lyrical pieces by Jacques Ibert and Joseph Jongen. The Zodiac Trio by Welsh composer William Mathias was an exuberant composition that featured Pisces, Aries and Taurus. With its prominent clap of the strings and castanet rhythm, the bull was unmistakeably a Spanish bull!
The Ensemble invited compositions for the recital and performed works by Milly Holroyd, Emma–Ruth Richards and Gavin Osborne. In Milly's composition, A Beautiful Wolf and the Beautiful Moon, the tone painting was distinctive. As with the other contemporary pieces the Echo Chamber Ensemble accepted the challenges of the new scores with dedication and splendid musicianship.
Bardic Trio, Cowdray Hall 2013
Dear Jamie.
Thanks you for a splendid recital today. The textures that you all produced were most attractive and the programming was lovely for a summer concert. I am so glad you were in touch and that we were able to help. I would like to pass on congratualtions to both your harpsit and guitarist - a combination that worked so very well.
Many thanks once again and 'haste ye back'. Yours, Roger Williams
LUNCHBREAK CONCERT JAMIE MacDOUGALL Tenor SHARRON GRIFFITHS Harp MATTHEW McALLISTER Guitar COWDRAY HALL
Friday, 14 June 2013, Alan Cooper, Aberdeen city
Despite being some way outside of the main Lunchbreak Concert programme and being on a Friday rather than the customary Thursday, there was a reasonable turnout for the concert of music for voice, harp and guitar given by tenor Jamie MacDougall, harpist Sharron Griffiths and guitarist Matthew McAllister. I don’t know why the combination of voice with both harp and guitar should have seemed rather exotic since, especially in Scotland, voice with harp or with guitar alone are not that unusual either in a folk or a classical setting but the choice of music for the first part of the concert certainly added to the feeling that we were enjoying something rather unusual and exotic.
There are some countries whose music does not seem to achieve the international acclaim that music from Germany, Italy, France or Russia to give just four examples gets regularly. Even English and especially Scottish composers are not that well known internationally compared with the “central” repertoire so it was a special and valuable experience to be exposed to the music of Mexican and Paraguayan composers. One is left wondering how much more of a treasure house of music from these and other countries remains to be discovered. What I can say without too much fear of contradiction is that Dr Roger Williams and his Lunchbreak Series is certainly one of the places to go if you want to broaden your musical horizons.
Many of the songs in Friday’s programme dealt with failed or thwarted love and the trio opened their performance with two songs by the Mexican composer Francisco Pichardo. Not much seems to be known about him and I wonder whether more information exists in his own country. In the first song Al Triste Arullo (To the sad lullaby) Jamie MacDougall’s smoothly ardent tenor singing was accompanied by a combination of both harp and guitar which together were a satisfying analogue of a piano accompaniment. In the second song, Flores Del Alma, (Flowers of the Soul), the two instruments were more separate and the special qualities of each were allowed to flourish before being brought together again.
Two pieces by different Paraguayan composers gave the two instrumentalists the opportunity to impress separately. Agustin Barrios was himself a guitarist and Matthew McAllister gave a beautifully delicate account of his Julia Florida. Alfredo Rolando Ortiz (I include his middle name to distinguish him from a performer of the same name who plays with The Beastie Boys) is Paraguay’s most distinguished harpist and composer and Sharron Griffiths captured the rhythmic intensity and excitement of his Milonga para amar.
To complete our visit to South America, Jamie MacDougall took us back to Mexico and Por ti mi Corazón (For you my heart) by Manuel Maria Ponce, a fine example for tenor voice and guitar.
Benjamin Britten arranged a number of folksongs for Peter Pears to perform along with the most notable exponents of guitar and harp at the time. I Will Give My Love an Apple (The Riddle Song) and Soldier and Sailor were written for Pears and Julian Bream. Jamie MacDougall was accompanied delicately on guitar by Matthew
McAllister which allowed the texts to shine clearly through with the mystery of the first explained and the earthier conclusion of the second calling for lots of drink for the protagonists – this being the prayer that they heartily believe in.
The settings of Welsh songs were composed for Pears and the renowned Welsh harpist Ossian Ellis. Jamie MacDougall sang two of the most famous Welsh songs Bugeilo’r Gwenith Gwyn and Dafydd y Garreg Wen in the original language accompanied with deep feeling by Sharron Griffiths. In both sets as in Britten’s songs which use piano, exquisitely subtle harmonic changes in the accompaniments lend deeper meaning to the familiar folk melodies.
Before the final item in the concert which for me was the highlight of the performance, harp and guitar were brought together in a special arrangement of the Sérénade mélancolique Op. 45 originally for harp alone by the Belgian born harpist and composer Alphonse Hasselmans who worked most of his life in France and whom the French like to claim as one of their own. This arrangement had delightful interplay
and echo effects between the two instruments and the performers came together neatly at the conclusion.
I often feel that the Scottish composer Eddie McGuire does not get the attention and respect he deserves. I always enjoy his music and his arrangements of six well-known Burns songs were quite splendid, especially his magnificent setting of Ae Fond Kiss. The trio were brought together in these songs and Jamie MacDougall’s clear tenor voice sounded perfectly at home here whether in the softer arrangements like The Winter it is Past or Ae Fond Kiss or in the lively rousing songs like The De’il’s Awa or Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie and of course A Man’s a Man which was a fitting response to the Slave’s Lament with its fine guitar accompaniment. It would be splendid to find these song arrangements laid down on a CD some time in the future!
Dear Sharron
Thank you for performing “ONe Blazing Glance” at the 17th Annual Womens History Network Conference at the University of Glasgow.
Your sound brings such an excellent addition, combination, blend to the ensemble, just perfect! You play with such a sensitivity and ensemble intuition - thank
you. It has been a real pleasure working with you and I wish you the very bestin all your future endeavours.
Sincerely yours, Beth Denisch, composer.
Royal Northern Sinfonia, Sage Gateshead 16th January 2018 Backtrack ****
This imaginative programme revealed yet again the versatility of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and ideally suited the highly talented conductor, Je/ssica Cottis, whose flamboyant conducting style drew some fine playing from the orchestra. Harpist, Sharron Griffiths, produced lovely delicate sounds from her harp in a sensitive performance of Debussy’s sensuous Danse sacrée et danse profane.
Royal Northern Sinfonia, Westmoreland Hall, Kendal 20th January 2018
We were treated to a fine harp cadenza by Sharron Griffiths
Tam Pollard, Where is Runnicles
The harp of Sharron Griffiths glittered in texture
Fife Today
Pleyel’s new pedal-free, chromatic harp occasioned such a need and Debussy’s commissioning resulted in Danses sacrée et profane. There are typical Debussy trademarks such as parallel and whole-tone harmony, and some lovely lush string writing as the work emerges from faux-ecclesiastical modality into more coquettish profanity. The soloist, the excellent Sharron Griffiths, has been very impressive in this festival.
Alan Coady, Bachtrack
My nearest instructor in this was the fantastic harpist Sharron Griffiths, ably assisted by Ravel. Who better to illustrate the harp’s contribution to colour, diction and punctuation than this master orchestrator.
Alan Coady, Bachtrack
Danse sacrée et danse profane by Debussy was shot through with warm immediacy and silvery movement
The Scotsman
Solo recital- Hospitalfield Arts Arbroath, 1st July 2017
Dear Sharron
What a very wonderful evening Saturday was thanks to you and your playing and the very wonderful choices of music.
There has been such wonderful feedback, everyone so enjoyed your playing and all the interesting information you gave about the harp and the background you gave for each of your choices. I thought the addition of the Benjamin Britten was fantastic!
The audience was so mixed with our more ‘mature’ friends and supporters and also the artists who were here at the start of their residency. They all enjoyed the evening as much as each other for all sorts of different reasons.
What a wonderful way to give the harp back some life and now we have created an expectation for more and I do hope that we will be able to talk about this in the future when you are not quite so busy. Please do get in touch when you can.
Thank you very much
Best wishes
Lucy Byatt
Director
Hospitalfield House
Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus: A Ceremony of Carols, December 2016
Benjamin Britten, journeying back from America with Peter Pears in 1942, picked up a book of old English poetry when the cargo boat called into Halifax. The words inspired his extraordinary A Ceremony of Carols set for upper voices and harp. Like his church parables, the work is bookended with plainchant, and the singers processed down the aisle singing the strange Alleluias. It is a work of simple melodies and Chorus director and conductor Gregory Batsleer emphasised the contrasts with a strident Wolcum Yole full of attack and bite, to the more reflective In Freezing Winter Night with its resolving dissonances. Two choral scholars, soprano Georgina Malcolm and alto Amanda MacLeod took walk out solos, blending perfectly in duet with Malcolm’s sweet bell-clear top notes soaring in That yongë child. Sharron Griffiths’ haunting harp intertwined beautifully with the singers, adding a brittle wintry tone.
**** David Smythe, 17 December 2016, Bachtrack
Bardic Trio, Inverurie January 2017
BARDIC TRIO EARNS A STANDING OVATION
On Saturday, 11th February in St Mary’s Church, Inverurie Music presented the Bardic Trio in its first concert of the New Year. Jamie MacDougall (tenor), Sharron Griffiths (harp) and Matthew McAllister (guitar) entertained a capacity audience with a medleyof songs, pieces and poetry from the British Isles with a Celtic flavour.
Jamie MacDougall is well known in broadcasting circles. He presents ‘Grace Notes’ and ‘Classics Unwrapped’ and has anchored the BBC Proms in the Park as part of the Last Night of the Proms Festivities. Three songs by Alasdair Nicolson (b 1961) were a suitable launching pad for his singing in terms of compass, expression and communication with the audience.
Matthew is widely appreciated as a classical guitarist throughout Europe. As an effective contrast, he held the audience spellbound with his rendition of ‘Farewell to Stromness’ by Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016). This was originally written for piano. In the arrangement he delighted the audience with his mastery of his instrument and his sensuous and lingering evocation of the emotions of the title.
Another change of mood came as we were led by Sharron Griffiths from the calm and grey tides of Orkney to the lush landscape of the Welsh valleys. In a cascade of arpeggios, she displayed the powerand brilliance of her concert pedal harp with an introductory piece, “Watching the Wheat”, by John Thomas (1826-1913). This was followed by a selection of traditional melodies and songs, two of which were arranged by Eddie McGuire. Jamie gave a splendid rendition of an extract from the well-loved ‘Under Milk Wood.’
Thomas Moore (1779-1852) was a poet, singer and satirist that can lay claim to being the Irish counterpart of Robert Burns. His best-known songs were, like Burns, traditional songs fashioned with his own lyrics, but he also wrote his own material and was a very popular singer in and around London. Smiles were noticed on many a face when Jamie “unearthed” three familiar songs in his cheerful style, especially “Minstrel Boy”.
The Eddie McGuire arrangements of Burns songs were a fitting end to the concert. As the instruments were tuned up between numbers, Jamie made some wistful observations about a nearby village (which shall remain nameless) in his Glaswegian off-the- cuff style of humour. By this time the audience knew what to expect in terms of musicality: beautiful contrasts of colour, from the delicate caress of ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ to the racing triplets of ‘The De’il’s awa’ wi’ th’ exciseman.’ It concluded with a stalwart ‘For a’that an a’ that’ and as an encore ‘Castle Gordon.’ A standing ovation gave them top marks but it has to be said that every mark should be doubled for the Trio’s interaction with the audience, injecting life into live music.
Finally, thanks are due to the volunteers of St Mary’s Church for providing teas and cakes at the interval.
A.Massey
BARDIC TRIO, SUNDAY 22nd January 2017
What a start to Cowal Music Club’s first live concert of 2017 when the Bardic Trio, Jamie MacDougall, tenor, Sharron Griffiths, harp and Matthew McAllister, guitar, played to a packed Hanover Street Hall last Sunday afternoon. Their professionalism and musicianship certainly cheered the audience up on a dreach Sunday afternoon.
They opened with three Burn’s songs arranged by Scottish composer Eddie McGuire, who is no stranger to Cowal Music Club. He was the composer that the club commissioned to commemorate the club’s 70 years a couple of years ago and he enjoys coming to be part of the audience whenever artists play his compositions.
The Trio started with ‘The Winter It Is Past’ which introduced the audience to Jamie’s agile voice capable of seamless transitions from lower register to mellifluous high register. He then followed with ‘The De’ils Awa Wi’ The Exciseman’ when his voice rang out with thrilling intensity and, finely, hefinished with a heartfelt interpretation of ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ that displayed a variety of tone including singing of the finest delicacy showing richness and the ability to convey feelings. Eddie’s arrangement, without a doubt, was melodic and so accomplished and the trio’s playing flawless.
Matthew’s playing ‘Farewell to Stromness’ by Peter Maxwell Davies was mesmerising and riveting.
Next it was Sharron’s turn who introduced the audience to a selection of Welsh songs opening with a breathtaking harp performance of John Thomas’s ‘Watching The Wheat’
The first half finished with a haunting interpretation of ‘ArHyd Y Nos’ ( All through the Night), again arranged by EddeMcGuire, and sung by Jamie with elegant phrasing and haunting effects.
The second half started with a selection of Irish pieces beginning with ‘My Gentle Harp’ played by Matthew and ending with Jamie’s rendition of ‘Minstrel Boy’ by Thomas Moore.
The concert finished with a selection of songs by Burns, again arranged by Eddie McGuire, starting with ‘Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie’, ‘The Slaves Lament’ and the wonderful but highly emotional ‘For All That An’ All That’ that produced a wonderful combination of harp, guitar and tenor. The ovation from the audience said it all as they stamped their feet and clapped refusing to let the Trio leave the stage.
KAREN KEITH, The Buteman Monday 23 January 2017 Bardic Trio
One concert-goer remarked that she’d “Never forget this evening” - a sentiment surely shared by all who attended Bardic Trio’s performance on Friday. The ensemble - comprising Scottish tenor Jamie McDougall, Welsh harpist Sharron Griffiths, and Scottish guitarist Matthew McAllister - treated the Rothesay audience to s election of Celtic works which proved to be the perfect remedy to a cold winter’s night on Bute. The Bardic Trio in action in Trinity Church on Friday evening. Introducing the trio, Jamie remarked that they were delighted to be on Bute, joking that they’d turned down the opportunity to perform at the new US President’s inauguration to be there! Although Jamie apologised for the cold he was suffering from, it was hardly noticable as he, Sharron and Matthew launched into Robert Burn’s ‘Ae Fond Kiss’. Performed with real sensitivity and feeling, it was clear to see why the trio is held in such high regard Jamie’s vocals were crisp and clear, and a delight to hear in the superb acoustics of Rothesay’s Trinity Church.
Solo performances from both Matthew and Sharron were among some of the evening’s highlights. Matthew’s rendition of ‘Farewell to Stromness’ was both soothing and measured and demonstrated the depth of emotion in the music. Sharron, paying tribute to her Welsh roots, played John Thomas’ ‘Watching the Wheat’. A stunning, delicate performance of a tragic love story played expertly by Sharron. Other combinations of the trio saw Matthew and Sharron team up to perform ‘Clychae Aberdyfi’, a traditional Welsh song, and ‘The Meeting of the Waters’, which is an Irish song by Thomas Moore.
Among the evening’s highlights, without a doubt, were the trio’s performances of the works of Burns. Jamie’s high-energy rendition of ‘Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie’ was a real treat and left many in amazement at how he was able to catch his breath in time for each verse! But it was ‘A Man’s a Man for A That’ which stole the show. Jamie himself remarked that the song “should be taken up by the world as an anthem”, and the ensemble’s performance of that particular piece was a prime example of the power and beauty of the song.
The next concert in Bute Arts Society’s winter programme will be held on Friday, February 17, and features the Roxburgh Quartet (string quartet). Tickets are £8, free to students, and the concert begins at 7.30pm. Mark it in your diaries now!
Read more at: http://www.buteman.co.uk/whats-on/music/an-unforgettable-evening-with-the-bardic-trio-1-4346402
Clyde Duo, Music in Rannoch 2013
"The audience rightly loved it and thought that it was one of our best concerts ever.
Your playing is quite breathtaking, not only in virtuosity but also in beauty"
Echo Chamber Ensemble, Kickaldy Music Society 2013
On November 6th the Society welcomed the Echo Chamber Ensemble. This Trio of Ruth Morley, Flute; Hannah Craib, Viola and Sharron Griffiths, Harp played a selection of Duos and Trios. Ruth studied at the RSAMD and now teaches there. Hannah was born in Fife, studied at the Royal College of Music and played in the Alba String Quartet for four years. Sharron was born in Wales, attended the RNCM and now teaches at the Royal Conservatoire. Their programme started with Arnold Bax's Elegiac Trio and continued with Vincent Persichetti's Serenade No 10 for Flute and Harp. The first half ended with William Mathias' Zodiac Trio. After the interval, the Trio played Ibert's Deux Interludes, then Hannah sat out for the Duo, Danse Lente Op 65 by Joseph Jongen. The concert ended with the Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp by Debussy. The music may have been unfamiliar, but the sound was glorious and each item was introduced by a Trio member in a relaxed manner.
Lammermuir Festival
Monday 23 September 2013 National Youth Choir of Scotland: ROSENNA EAST, the Herald Three stars
The start of the Saturday evening's concert by the National Girls Choir of the National Youth Choir of Scotland was heralded by the golden sound of festival artist-in-residence Alec Frank-Gemmill's french horn playing, echoing round the warm church with the Prologue from Britten's Serenade For Tenor Horn And Strings.
This surprise introduction led us to the programmed start of the concert - Britten's Missa Brevis in D-major from the Girls Choir. Which meant we moved from the last F-natural of the Serenade to the opening F-sharp of the Missa Brevis with something of a jolt. But NYCoS is rightly a phenomenon of the Scottish musical world at the moment, under the direction of Christopher Bell, and one was soon lost in admiration for its diction, control and blended sound, if not moved.
Four Chorale Preludes from Brahms Op 122, played by John Kitchen at the organ, challenged the audience to settle its attention on the different sounds of this instrument, before the choir returned with Brahms: Four Songs from Op 17.
Written for choir, two horns and harp, this instrumentation was also the bedrock of a new commission from William Sweeney, Four Songs from The Singin' Lass. Beginning with atmospheric low harp from Sharon Griffiths, and featuring lovely solo voices above the choir, the concert suddenly came to life. Sweeney's third movement, The Blue Jacket was another special moment, where time dissolved in suspended lines, though we heard less of the gripping text by Scots poet Marion Angus as a result.
Britten's Ceremony Of Carols with it's magical final Recession, closed the concert. Performed with exemplary skill and focus, with many serenely pure beautiful phrases, it needed more drama, joy and triumph.
Classical review: Lammermuir Festival - The Scotsman, Ken Walton
Saturday’s evening concert by the NYCoS National Girls Choir in St Mary’s Haddington was a programme revolving ingeniously around the instrumental presence of harp, horns and organ. That enabled director Christopher Bell to include works imbedded in the choir’s repertoire – Britten’s Missa Brevis and A Ceremony of Carols – and to give a rare outing to Brahms’s Four Songs, Op 17 for female voices, horns and harp, and to premiere the similarly scored Four Songs from the Singin’ Lass, a festival commission by William Sweeney.
Sweeney’s handling of Scots poet Marion Angus’s words is simple and delicate, its instrumental underlay subtle and suggestive.This performance drew out the dreamy mystical Scottish elements in the music, not least in the distant clustered harmonies of Huntlie Hill. And it gave liquid flow to the music’s narrative aspirations.
It was also a neat nudge away from the sweet and harmonious Teutonic romanticism of the Brahms, sung with ripe precision, and the unmistakable lustre of the Britten.
There was a strange but effective moment at the start of the concert, where the Missa Brevis was prefaced by Alec Frank-Gemmill playing the solo horn Prologue from Britten’s Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. Whether that – being a semitone removed in key – led to the initial flagging in the choir’s intonation matters little, as the performance quickly grew in confidence.
Moreover, John Kitchen was inventive in his handling of the austere Haddington organ, following that up with four of Brahms’s Chorale Preludes as a neat solo segue into the Brahms songs. Despite its unseasonal presence, A Ceremony of Carols was a ringing conclusion, as much for Sharon Griffiths’ unshakeable harp playing as the choir’s buoyant singing.
RSNO Chamber Soiree, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
CONRAD WILSON, The Scotsman
16 Mar 2009
Star rating: ****
Chamber concerts from the RSNO are rarities, and this one was a present to the orchestra's Edinburgh supporters who have been deprived of seats in the Usher Hall this season. Though the programme started in well-established musical territory with Mozart's Oboe Quartet and the most famous of Shostakovich's string quartets (the war-haunted No 8), it moved thereafter into more specialised realms with Ginastera's Argentinian Impresiones de la Puna for flute and strings, Debussy's Danses Sacrees et Profanes, Britten's Phantasy Quartet and, finally, the sumptuous glitter of Ravel's great Introduction and Allegro.
It was a scrupulously devised evening, and it worked a treat. The chance to hear expert RSNO players in music outwith their normal repertoire was an opportunity well worth seizing. Emmanuel Laville, the French-born principal oboe, played the Mozart with keen refinement, not least in the passage where the music goes deliberately off-track in the finale. Though the Shostakovich demanded fiercer attack, the Ginastera lacked nothing in South American lilt. Debussy's dances, with harpist Sharron Griffiths, were swayingly atmospheric, and the soft, dark, faintly Mahlerish march rhythms of the early Britten (it would have been good also to hear his solo Harp Suite) were subtly caught.
But it was the Ravel, with its marvellous flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet timbres, which shimmeringly capped the evening. Here was a work which chamber ensembles tend to sidestep unless they can find the right players for the occasion.
Gig review: MacDougall & Friends, Glasgow ****
By KENNETH WALTON
MacDougall & Friends - Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow Published on 13/06/2013 02:57
Last night’s early evening concert was a relaxed affair. The title itself – Jamie MacDougall and Friends – suggested as much. But it was the thread of folk music, and a manner of presentation to match it, that gave an air of congeniality to the hour-long programme.
At the centre of things was MacDougall himself, a Scots tenor with a couthie charm, talking us through a musical journey that began in Mexico and Paraguay, and ended in Scotland by way of England and Wales. Helping him on his way were guitarist Matthew McAllister and harpist Sharron Griffiths. In various combinations, they coloured songs by Mexicans Francisco Pichardo and Manuel Ponce (his heartfelt Por ti mi Carazón the most compellingly delivered) with an elusive passion, as well as Paraguayan instrumental numbers by Augustin Barrios and Alfredo Ortiz.
English and Welsh folk song arrangements by Britten – accompanied respectively by guitar and harp – gave MacDougall plenty of opportunities to slip into appropriate character modes, and to force out their charm above Britten’s rather stylised accompaniments.
But the real treat of the evening was Eddie McGuire’s exquisite arrangements of songs by Robert Burns, one of them – Ae Fond Kiss, with its clever conversation of harmonics announcing the theme in the instrumental intro, and the unforced boldness of its harmonic underlay – an absolute corker. Another gem was the Slave’s Lament, shot through with a weird Orientalism that captured the sultriness of the text – McGuire at his best.
Echo Chamber Ensemble, Inverurie Music
The Echo Chamber Ensemble, Ruth Morley (flute), Hannah Craib (viola) and Sharron Griffiths (harp), gave an interesting and accomplished concert last Saturday at St Mary's Episcopal Church in Inverurie. The concert was part of the Sound Festival, a festival that features contemporary music. We were fortunate in hearing three brand new compositons. One of these was by student Milly Holroyd who was present to hear her piece and give a bow to the audience.
The use of flute, viola and harp is a particularly expressive combination. It came into vogue in France at the turn of the 20th Century, where its colour and texture mirrored the art of the impressionists. The Echo Chamber Ensemble displayed their mastery of this classic repertoire with a number of pieces from this era, including the Elegiac Trio by Arnold Bax and Claude Debussy's Sonata, which began and ended the recital. They were composed within a few months of each other in 1916. Although Bax was born an Englishman in a leafy London suburb, he fell in love with Ireland, as can be traced in the Celtic qualities in this musical response to the Easter Rising. Debussy's work was composed towards the end of his life, when he was affected by the war and his personal depression. In this richly expressive but economic work, the performance conveyed the moods with a compass of tone and dynamics that were superbly balanced.
The programme broadened to other works from the later 20th Century. TheSerenade by Vincent Persichetti showed how much could be achieved with little material and this was followed by lyrical pieces by Jacques Ibert and Joseph Jongen. The Zodiac Trio by Welsh composer William Mathias was an exuberant composition that featured Pisces, Aries and Taurus. With its prominent clap of the strings and castanet rhythm, the bull was unmistakeably a Spanish bull!
The Ensemble invited compositions for the recital and performed works by Milly Holroyd, Emma–Ruth Richards and Gavin Osborne. In Milly's composition, A Beautiful Wolf and the Beautiful Moon, the tone painting was distinctive. As with the other contemporary pieces the Echo Chamber Ensemble accepted the challenges of the new scores with dedication and splendid musicianship.
Bardic Trio, Cowdray Hall 2013
Dear Jamie.
Thanks you for a splendid recital today. The textures that you all produced were most attractive and the programming was lovely for a summer concert. I am so glad you were in touch and that we were able to help. I would like to pass on congratualtions to both your harpsit and guitarist - a combination that worked so very well.
Many thanks once again and 'haste ye back'. Yours, Roger Williams
LUNCHBREAK CONCERT JAMIE MacDOUGALL Tenor SHARRON GRIFFITHS Harp MATTHEW McALLISTER Guitar COWDRAY HALL
Friday, 14 June 2013, Alan Cooper, Aberdeen city
Despite being some way outside of the main Lunchbreak Concert programme and being on a Friday rather than the customary Thursday, there was a reasonable turnout for the concert of music for voice, harp and guitar given by tenor Jamie MacDougall, harpist Sharron Griffiths and guitarist Matthew McAllister. I don’t know why the combination of voice with both harp and guitar should have seemed rather exotic since, especially in Scotland, voice with harp or with guitar alone are not that unusual either in a folk or a classical setting but the choice of music for the first part of the concert certainly added to the feeling that we were enjoying something rather unusual and exotic.
There are some countries whose music does not seem to achieve the international acclaim that music from Germany, Italy, France or Russia to give just four examples gets regularly. Even English and especially Scottish composers are not that well known internationally compared with the “central” repertoire so it was a special and valuable experience to be exposed to the music of Mexican and Paraguayan composers. One is left wondering how much more of a treasure house of music from these and other countries remains to be discovered. What I can say without too much fear of contradiction is that Dr Roger Williams and his Lunchbreak Series is certainly one of the places to go if you want to broaden your musical horizons.
Many of the songs in Friday’s programme dealt with failed or thwarted love and the trio opened their performance with two songs by the Mexican composer Francisco Pichardo. Not much seems to be known about him and I wonder whether more information exists in his own country. In the first song Al Triste Arullo (To the sad lullaby) Jamie MacDougall’s smoothly ardent tenor singing was accompanied by a combination of both harp and guitar which together were a satisfying analogue of a piano accompaniment. In the second song, Flores Del Alma, (Flowers of the Soul), the two instruments were more separate and the special qualities of each were allowed to flourish before being brought together again.
Two pieces by different Paraguayan composers gave the two instrumentalists the opportunity to impress separately. Agustin Barrios was himself a guitarist and Matthew McAllister gave a beautifully delicate account of his Julia Florida. Alfredo Rolando Ortiz (I include his middle name to distinguish him from a performer of the same name who plays with The Beastie Boys) is Paraguay’s most distinguished harpist and composer and Sharron Griffiths captured the rhythmic intensity and excitement of his Milonga para amar.
To complete our visit to South America, Jamie MacDougall took us back to Mexico and Por ti mi Corazón (For you my heart) by Manuel Maria Ponce, a fine example for tenor voice and guitar.
Benjamin Britten arranged a number of folksongs for Peter Pears to perform along with the most notable exponents of guitar and harp at the time. I Will Give My Love an Apple (The Riddle Song) and Soldier and Sailor were written for Pears and Julian Bream. Jamie MacDougall was accompanied delicately on guitar by Matthew
McAllister which allowed the texts to shine clearly through with the mystery of the first explained and the earthier conclusion of the second calling for lots of drink for the protagonists – this being the prayer that they heartily believe in.
The settings of Welsh songs were composed for Pears and the renowned Welsh harpist Ossian Ellis. Jamie MacDougall sang two of the most famous Welsh songs Bugeilo’r Gwenith Gwyn and Dafydd y Garreg Wen in the original language accompanied with deep feeling by Sharron Griffiths. In both sets as in Britten’s songs which use piano, exquisitely subtle harmonic changes in the accompaniments lend deeper meaning to the familiar folk melodies.
Before the final item in the concert which for me was the highlight of the performance, harp and guitar were brought together in a special arrangement of the Sérénade mélancolique Op. 45 originally for harp alone by the Belgian born harpist and composer Alphonse Hasselmans who worked most of his life in France and whom the French like to claim as one of their own. This arrangement had delightful interplay
and echo effects between the two instruments and the performers came together neatly at the conclusion.
I often feel that the Scottish composer Eddie McGuire does not get the attention and respect he deserves. I always enjoy his music and his arrangements of six well-known Burns songs were quite splendid, especially his magnificent setting of Ae Fond Kiss. The trio were brought together in these songs and Jamie MacDougall’s clear tenor voice sounded perfectly at home here whether in the softer arrangements like The Winter it is Past or Ae Fond Kiss or in the lively rousing songs like The De’il’s Awa or Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie and of course A Man’s a Man which was a fitting response to the Slave’s Lament with its fine guitar accompaniment. It would be splendid to find these song arrangements laid down on a CD some time in the future!
Dear Sharron
Thank you for performing “ONe Blazing Glance” at the 17th Annual Womens History Network Conference at the University of Glasgow.
Your sound brings such an excellent addition, combination, blend to the ensemble, just perfect! You play with such a sensitivity and ensemble intuition - thank
you. It has been a real pleasure working with you and I wish you the very bestin all your future endeavours.
Sincerely yours, Beth Denisch, composer.