The Rachel Hair Trio

An interested audience gathered on Saturday September 21st to hear the Rachel Hair Trio, an unusual grouping of Scottish clarsach, guitar and double bass – and they were not disappointed. From first kick-off, the trio delivered lively, rhythmic music that married the worlds of folk and jazz, making something peculiarly their own.

Rachel Hair is an internationally renowned exponent of the traditional Scottish harp, and she used it as the soprano line in this grouping, with its fast, clear notes playing brilliantly against the harmonic structure supplied by guitar and bass. Jenn Butterworth added a dimension of her own, not only through her skilled and confident playing but through the addition of a wordless vocal line in some numbers that was strangely evocative. Gaelic music has always used the human voice instrumentally – one has only to think of the fast-moving ‘mouth music’ to feel the feet tapping – yet it also has the tradition of ‘keening’ in sadness for a loss or a death. Besides this though, Jenn sang a solo of her own composition that puts her firmly in the modern creative camp. Brodie Jarvie, though in most numbers providing the essential basis of the music, had moments of brilliance when his true ability as a talented bassist broke through and shone. It was a magical evening – and Arran’s own clarsach players went reeling (if that is the word) home in a state of complete thrill after hearing such professionalism.