In celebration of its 42nd year, Arts Jasper is bringing a Scottish adventure to Jasper.
A trio of musicians, including Jasper favorites Christine Hanson and Bruce MacGregor, will perform a concert Sept. 9.
“We’ll be taking the audience on a musical journey through the 18th and 19th centuries, and all the way into the 20th and contemporary folk tunes,” said Hanson in an interview.
Hanson was born in Edmonton, but has spent the last 15 years playing music in Scotland. It was there she met and began playing with MacGregor, who is making a special trip to Canada from his home base in Inverness to play with her and Andrew Hillhouse.
During her time in Scotland, Hanson and her musical partners picked up several rare and unique tunes—many of which are seldom heard outside of Scotland. A few are even unpublished songs that have been passed down through Scottish oral tradition.
It’s those tunes they will be bringing to the Jasper audience next week, putting on a show that includes not only unique Scottish traditional music, but also a history of the music as it has progressed through the centuries.
Traditional songs, jigs and reels will be punctuated by tidbits of history about the music, as well as the people who wrote it, and for whom it was written.
“It’s a rare experience,” Hanson said of the concert. “And to have an authentic highland fiddler playing this music makes it even more special.”
The show is also unique because the trio is composed of MacGregor on the fiddle, Andrew Hillhouse on guitar, and Hanson on the cello. Hanson explained that although it’s not that common today, in the 18th century cellos were a staple in Scottish folk music.
When instruments like the piano and accordion became popular, cellos “got wiped out,” because the former could make a lot more noise, and, for music that was written primarily for dances, that was the ideal.
Hanson has been playing the cello since she was a young girl, and her interest in its place in traditional Scottish music inspires the show. Their traditional musical arrangement means the trio will bring a unique sound to the stage, which Hanson said will leave the audience both spellbound and reaching for their dancing shoes.
“We sort of mapped it out so we could take the audience on a journey. So people leave with the music, but also something a little more than that.”
Tickets for An Adventure of Scotland, which will be held at the Jasper Legion at 8 p.m. Sept. 9, are $12. Tickets include $1 off a dram of Scotch, as a thank you from Arts Jasper.
Trevor Nichols
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