We are delighted to be able to share with you a series of short performances recorded in our gallery spaces, brought to you by our partners Live Music Now Scotland.
These special concerts have been commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland in response to artworks in the collection.
Maxwell/Lightbody/Smith | Springtime Jazz Recital
Recorded with David Roberts’ glorious Rome Sunset as a backdrop, join Glasgow-based jazz trio Maxwell/Lightbody/Smith for a short set of jazz classics including DeSylva and Kern’s 1919 show tune Look for the Silver Lining, and George Gerwin’s enduring classic Summertime (1935).
Sophie Rocks | Harp Recital
Recorded in the splendour of our Rococo to Revolution gallery, harpist Sophie Rocks plays a set responding to the breadth of Scottish and European 18th and 19th century history represented in the artworks in the room. Her set includes Handel’s 1737 Harp Concerto in B flat major, an excerpt from Mark Reid’s arrangement of The Lost Songs of St Kilda, and concludes with Marie-Louise Napier’s In the Summer House chosen to compliment Lorenzo Bartolini’s 1821-22 sculpture of the waltzing Campbell Sisters.
Siannie Moodie | Celtic Revival
Responding to the Celtic Revival artworks on display, Siannie Moodie plays a selection of traditional Scottish and Irish Gaelic tunes arranged for clàrsach. The Celtic Revival was a multidisciplinary movement in Britain and Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Seated in front of John Duncan’s 1913 St Bride, she plays a tune mimicking the sounds of oyster catcher, U-bhil U-bhil. In Gaelic the oyster catcher is called the Gille Brìghde or Guide of St Bride.
Vox Duo | Christmas Concert at the Portrait Gallery
Soprano Karla Grant and mezzo soprano Julia Solomon are joined by pianist Michał Gajzler to perform a short concert of Christmas music. Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery Great Hall, the recital includes their interpretation of Alan Bullard’s Scots Nativity.
Iona Fyfe and Ron Jappy | Pitlessie Fair and The Highland Wedding
Vocalist Iona Fyfe and Ron Jappy (guitar) perform a selection of bothy ballads and traditional tunes inspired by Sir David Wilkie’s Pitlessie Fair, 1804, and David Allan’s A Highland Wedding, 1780. This 20-minute performance includes Fyfe’s original arrangement in Scots of Bob Dylan’s 1963 classic, A Girl from the North Country.
