Cairngorm Mountain
Local musician Mhairi Hall will celebrate the release of her album Cairngorm with a performance in the Ptarmigan building just below the summit of Cairn Gorm on Friday 21st August, with Mhairi on grand piano, Fraser Stone on drums and percussion, and Michael Bryan on acoustic guitar. The music, which is from the Cairngorm area, captures Scotland’s music, energy and emotion on the piano. It was recorded in the beautiful space of Crear, Argyll in February 2009 and is produced by Dónal Lunny.
It’s not often that the boundaries of a genre and of an instrument are pushed so far in one record but, with her debut album Cairngorm, pianist Mhairi Hall has done just that. The intrinsic link between the music and the area’s landscape is beautifully expressed to make an album that seems to transcend just music and become a body of work with a soul. With legendary world music producer Dónal Lunny on production duties, a man himself at the forefront of traditional Gaelic folk music for more than 30 years, the trio retreated to Crear in Argyll, which houses one of the finest Steinway pianos in the country. The surroundings breathed life into the record and are widely responsible for its rich sounding emotionally beauty. The trio, consisting of three of Scotland’s most exceptional musicians, is fronted by Mhairi, who was raised in Aviemore. Her virtuosic piano playing is complimented by Fraser Stone on drum kit and percussion and Michael Bryan on guitar.
On Friday 21st August they will transport a grand piano up CairnGorm Mountain, near Aviemore and upon reaching the Ptarmigan venue at the top they will perform the music live to celebrate the launch of this special album.
Both traditional material and tracks composed by Mhairi make up Cairngorm, as she explained, “It was very important for us to try and capture a sense of the area through our music. Many of the melodies are hundreds of years old, and were written for places that lie unchanged today or old legends and people. We hope that we have created a sound which is respectful of this.”
The Cairngorms National Park Authority has contributed towards the recording cost and helped fund the launch of this album.
Funiculars to the venue from the Coire Cas car park will leave every 15 minutes from 6:45pm (last train up 7:30pm). The concert will begin at 8pm.
A limited number of tickets are available for this special concert, priced at £10 (including funicular). These can be booked in advance from CairnGorm Mountain on 01479 861341. www.cairngormmountain.org
For further information contact:
Colin Kirkwood ckirkwood@cairngormmountain.org 01479 861326
Tania Alliod Tania@cairngormmountain.org 01479 861304
Mhairi Hall info@mhairihall.com
