Orkney Folk Festival – Stromness Parish Church – May 25, 2025
Written by celtic music radio on June 1, 2025
This was the last concert of the 2025 Orkney Folk Festival for me, and, after leaving the packed-out Ferry Inn session with my ears ringing from the sound of some 40+musicians crammed into a small space, I was ready for more a gentler, more relaxed ambiance. I found it at Stromness Parish Church.
The centre piece of the afternoon was going to be a choral recital – for which the splendid acoustics of the building were to prove perfect. First up, however, was show compere and master of the bothy ballad, Forfar’s own Scott Gardiner who opened with a pair of a capella classics of that genre.
George Thomson’s old Doric delight MacFarlan o’ the Sprotts was the first – a mock-tragic tale of MacFarlan, the singer’s emissary to his loved one, betraying him and courting her himself. There’s much humorous wordplay on Mr MacF’s supposedly off-putting appearance in the song – cue laughter from the audience who also joined in enthusiastically on the hookline “Ah dinna like MacFarlan”. That was followed by the entertaining mixture of unlikely complaints and boasts that makes up The Barnyards O’ Delgaty. Its catchy chorus had many of us joining in – a fair few, like myself, were old enough to remember Joe Gordon’s frequent renditions of the song on The White Heather Club.
The Orkney Festival Choir, conducted with contagious enthusiasm by Aimee Leonard (who also plays a mean bodhran), kicked off with a song to the element that surrounds Orkney. Here’s Tae the Sea was written by choir founding member Sarah Jane Gibbon (who, as well as being a local archaeologist, documented the Big Orkney Song Project – which, effectively, gave birth to the choir – as Voices in Chorus). It was a lovely song (and beautifully performed by the choir who were in great voice) which made me want to hear more of Sarah’s work.
That was followed by a traditional Orkney number The Eday Song, in praise of the island some 24km north of Kirkwall, and the set closed with the Jean Ritchie standard Let the Sun Shine Down On Me.
The full choir then left the stage to a smaller unit, The Songshop Trio comprising Aimee Leonard, Emily Turton and Sarah Jane Gibbon. Their talents were brought to bear on a shipwreck song, The Isle of Erin (concerning a boat of that name), The Trooper and the Maid – a tale of events occurring between a proactive young lady and an easily persuaded soldier, and The Greenland Whale Fishery – from the late 1700s – chronicling the dangers of whaling life. Each song was performed with professional confidence and perfect harmonies.
It was Glasgow’s Paul McKenna’s turn to step up, starting with a melodious take on Ralph McTell’s ballad about Irish emigration From Clare to Here. Then came two memorable originals: Beyond the Grave – a musing on the afterlife co-written with Irish musician Dave Byrne, and Can You See Me Sister – an emotionally moving number written with Tim O’Brien and dealing with a later-life encounter between two of Thomas Jefferson’s mixed-race children, one who could “pass” and one who could not. Paul finished with John Spillane’s song of love and Irish emigration Passage West.
After the break, a slightly personnel-changed choir (more male voices) made a re-appearance with a pair of songs which had been arranged and coached by The Maes – who seemed to be ubiquitous in this Festival, but who’s complaining when there’s a world-class act like them around?
Freedom Ride, written by Australian songwriter Troy Cassar-Daley, commemorates the 1965 15-day bus journey through regional New South Wales demonstrating against the racism experienced by the country’s indigenous people. The Maes conducted and led the singing while the choir sang harmonies and counterpoint. The audience joined in with enthusiasm on the song’s “All aboard the Freedom Ride” chorus. That was followed by an enormously uplifting choral take on The Maes own song about mutual respect in a relationship Treat You Better – again, we all joined in, and huge applause was rendered to both the choir and The Maes.
Scott returned to the stage with a comic song from early in his career, Ian Middleton’s tale of a monstrous pudding: The Dumplin’ and then finished the afternoon’s show with John Tams’ highly appropriate Rollin’ Home. Having enjoyed an afternoon singing along and listening to a succession of splendid singers, I then rolled home myself.
BOB LESLIE
https://facebook.com/ScottGardinerSingsSongs/
https://orkneycommunities.co.uk/orkneysingers/index.asp?pageid=593484
