Writers: Rachel Newton, Lauren MacColl
Heal & Harrow is a 50-minute suite of music about the Scottish witch trials, written and performed by Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl, taking inspiration from the writings of Mairi Kidd and accompanied by visuals by Alison Piper. The Leeds date was the last but one in a short tour of the UK.
The short first half revealed Newton and MacColl in relaxed mood, taking turns to introduce a number from their folk song repertory, chatting happily between numbers about the attractiveness of the room, the weather and their visit to the Witch’s Stone at Dornoch. Newton’s singing voice has considerable power at the top of the register and she brought a winning intensity to her performances. Her deft harp playing fitted perfectly with MacColl’s jaunty fiddle-playing, ending up with a frantic pair of reels.
The second half was quite different. This was Heal and Harrow, a movement for each of ten witches, though in truth it wasn’t always easy to tell who the movement was about. Alison Piper’s video became the focus of attention, initially abstract shapes (repeated at the end), but gradually assuming recognisable forms, glens and heather – appropriately snow-covered – before a near-final montage of human activity from a generation or three ago. Spoken words from Mairi Kidd’s tales of the witches were interspersed with the music and images.
The video summoned up by Newton’s foot also contained extra sound, notably a percussive beat, and technology played its part in Newton and MacColl’s accompaniment, building a wall of sound at times. At the other extreme Newton’s vocals, notably under-used in Heal & Harrow, were placed centre-stage for a brief unaccompanied solo.
The music for Heal & Harrow takes in the folk elements of Newton and MacColl’s usual programme, but expands them with contemporary voicings. Everything is beautifully synchronised, everything is played with great skill, but the audience is left puzzling over which melody applied to Isabel Gowdie, which to Margaret Aitken, and so on. The answer is probably there in the words of Rachel and Lauren: “Her (Mairi Kidd’s) stories have informed our music every step of the way.” The intensity of their performance, the originality of the concept and the instrumental quality of the two participants make Heal & Harrow a welcome addition to the lexicon of Scottish witches.
Touring nationwide
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