![]() For the first time, the 'Refuge of the Roads' had a sing along chorus: 'It's rennin, it's poorin,it's dingin it doun'īy this time, the band and Karine had begun cooking and 'Black Crow' became a 'Hoolet' and both Carlton and Fifield let rip before the final song 'Pilgrimer' brought everyone together. Again the very cool Rod Paterson delivered a great performance, eliciting laughter from the audience, recognising their home from the first line: The only music slightly tampered melodically with was 'Blue Motel Room' but it retained the feel as 'Grey in Grez'. ![]() In amongst the musical breaks, he seemed slightly lost or possibly overwhelmed, but the heart of the piece was strong and Karine Polwart and Annie Grace's warm presence and melodic singing were enough to hold and carry both him and the song through. The enormity of the 'Hejira' task was apparent in 'Song for Sharon' when Robertson's spoken tribute, 'Song for Joni' felt slightly awkward. 'Whit is this thing that happens, this ayewis needin tae explain.' ![]() 'Strange Boy' was sung with enigmatic stillness by Rod Paterson as 'The Weird Lass a Kippenrait' and in 'The Find', the title track, we were asked: ![]() Led and inspired by Karine, Annie Grace came on to brilliantly turn Memphis into Dundee with 'Pie Jock's Visit tae the Mune' ('Furry Sings The Blues'). Alongside Steven Polwart and his guitar arsenal, Kevin McGuire on double bass, Calum McIntyre on drums, percussion and vibraphone and the inspired Fraser Fifield on kaval, low whistle and soprano sax brought texture and feel to the work without drowning the vocalists who seemingly effortlessly brought the new lyrics to life. This sense of space for the songs to breathe came from all members of the outstanding house band. The 'less is more' effect of Carlton's mesmeric playing underlined why Joni chose him for the original album, with each note and sound seeming to have the intent of augmenting the song, rather than being a virtuoso display. 'Amelia' was set to morph into 'St Columba,' but not before Karine brought on stage a very special guest for the evening, Larry Carlton. On Saturday night, following Robertson's introduction, Musical Director Karine Polwart, who had been largely responsible for making the poetry work as songs, launched the 'Hejira House Band' into the foxy 'Tod.' Hearing the 'Coyote' melody in broad Scots set the tone for what was going to emerge. In a conversation with journalist Nicola Meighan about the process of producing the re-imagined 'Hejira', Robertson revealed that all those directing the project felt that original album was so well crafted musically with a side one, side two and a carefully constructed song order that the music would not be radically altered, but all the lyrics would be re written to produce the songs in Scottish and set in Scotland. The challenge of turning the whole of 'Hejira' into the Scottish language occurred in May, when Celtic Connections Director, Donald Shaw, encouraged and supported Robertson and Musical Directors, Karine and Steven Polwart, to go ahead and develop the work in its entirety. Robertson had made his own road trip across the USA some years ago and twenty years had passed since he first turned 'Coyote' into a poem about the Scottish fox 'Tod'. Was the Celtic heritage passed by Myrtle Anderson to her daughter, Roberta Joan, in Fort Macleod, Canada during November 1943 becoming more visible? Robertson spoke:Īimed at the two thousand eager music lovers who packed out the Glasgow Concert Hall, Robertson's words could apply equally to the Scottish, Irish and English immigrants who, in 1874, built and resided in Fort Macleod, the small North Western frontier town where Joni was born. ![]() The beautiful, meandering acoustic guitar of Musical Director, Steven Polwart, carried James Robertson on to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall stage on Saturday night to introduce his Scottish re-imagining of Hejira. 'Hejira' the icy album cover, Joni skating across frozen lakes, as at home on the ice as the migratory Sami reindeer herders whose blood she believes she may have inherited from her Father. When Glasgow's skies had opened on Saturday morning to cover the city in snow, it seemed one of those 'coincidences' that thrilled imagination. Pilgrimer, A Re-imagining of Joni Mitchell's 'Hejira' ![]()
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