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 The theme
of this powerful suite is the spread of Celtic Christianity during
the dark ages, a theme as Shaun says "when people we today call
saints journeyed either as ordinary passengers from one Celtic region
to another, or as voyagers into the unknown, traveling as wind and
current took them, placing their fate in the hands of the gods."
The saga of these hazardous sea voyages
- with all their fears and exultation - is brought to life on the
concert stage by a Scottish pipe band, Irish and Welsh harpists,
Galicia gaitas, uilleann pipes, the bombardes of Brittany, two vocal
soloists and a narrator together with a 120 strong choir and the
orchestra.
In stunning progression, players and
instruments representative of the seven Celtic countries and regions
- Wales, Scotland, Brittany, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall
and Galicia - are highlighted against the backdrop of a classical
orchestra.
Several passages evoke the wild power
of the sea, the connecting element between Celtic people. Amongst
the most evocative of them are 'Storm at Sea' sung in medieval Irish
by the Sean Nos (Old Style) singer Iarla O'Lionaird and 'A Walk
in the Water' featuring uilleann pipe master Liam O'Flynn. 'Ymadawiad
Arthur' with lyrics from the Welsh epic poem, describes the death
and last journey of King Arthur. Cor Gardrer Garth, the Welsh choir
who first performed this piece in Lorient have since added this
song to their regular repertoire. The stirring musical confrontation
between the City of Glasgow Pipes and Drums and the Glasgow Philharmonic
Orchestra, 'Briochan and Columba', has similarly become a popular
annual fixture in Glasgow.
Two songs specially written for Rita
Connolly are placed at the end of the work, movingly reinforcing
its spiritual dimension, 'The Deer's Cry' (aka. I Arise Today) and
'A Ghrian' (Hymn to the Sun). The sense of journey and the setting
are given further expression through short readings of poetry from
medieval times, translated from Old Irish and accompanied by the
unique sound of the metal-string Irish Harp.
The Pilgrim was originally recorded
live at its inaugural performance at the L'orient festival in 1983.
But as this is an ever evolving suite by the time it came to be
recorded in Glasgow' Royal Concert Hall in 1990 extra tracks were
included while others were sidelined. In addition tracks that could
not be included on vinyl releases were re-introduced when it was
released on CD. At the start of the decade there were a number of
performances scheduled for The Pilgrim and Shaun used these concerts
to rearrange some of the tracks as well as write some new material,
which he included on the 'May We Never Have To Say Goodbye'
CD which is now available for download from iTunes and Amazon.
Click
Here to read an interesting track-by-track account of the work
by Shaun.
Critics reach for superlatives in describing 'The
Pilgrim':
- "Davey's work manages to be both brave and populist.
The sequence in which the City of Glasgow Pipes and Drums squared
up to the Philharmonic Orchestra was simply stunning"
- "A musical experience of Stunning emotional power"
"An enthusiastic crowd of 7000.... called for encore after encore"
"It is not only an immense achievement musically and spiritually,
but is the outworking of one man's vision to squeeze life and
a sense of culture from the footnotes of history."
- "A journey to perfection"
- "A thing of beauty and considerable emotional
force...For once the standing ovation was awarded on merit."
- "There is simply no classification that can
be put on a work of this calibre...extraordinary music."
-
"The Pilgrim fascinated
3700 spectators and pinned them to their seats. They in turn
demanded two encores and gave the musicians a standing ovation.
Shaun Davey can be proud of the updating of his work, it was
simply superb.
Created in 1987 at the request of FIL, The Pilgrim has become
a well known musical myth among followers of that genre. This
year Shaun Davey reworked it for the 30th year of the Festival
and all in all it was the concert not be missed.
 The
Pilgrim is the story of St.Colomban who travelled throughout
the Celtic nations where he encountered not only suffering and
cruelty but also hope and beauty. There is no doubt but that
the music brought the 3700 listeners on a superb voyage of the
imagination marked with wonderful Celtic imagery and carried
by Gilles Servat's narration.
Rita Connolly seduced with her gentle voice, like Liam O'Maonlai.
And what can be said of the other soloists, talents such as
Liam O'Flynn on uilleann pipes, Andre Le Meut and Josik Allot
on bombardes, and Helen Davies on Celtic Harp, not to mention
the 180-strong choir and the FIL orchestra accompanied by Bagad
from Lorient
Ouest France 14/8/00
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"A standing ovation for
at least five minutes from 3000 spectators. Rarely in 30 years
has a festival show evoked such enthusiasm. On Saturday evening
in the big Kergroise marquee, The Pilgrim made hearts reel.
How can one not be lyrical about an evening whose lyricism swept
away all reticence? It's true that the first moments of the
concert were almost close to being becalmed, but very quickly
the first squalls flurried and the skiff of Kergroise suddenly
so fragile is carried along on a delicious musical peregrination.
One couldn't be prevented from applauding between each movement
though it's not the norm because it (the music) was too strong,
too moving, because it was too beautiful.
Certainly, for many, it was more than the shock of discovery;
the fusion of orchestra, choir and traditional instruments dated
back 20 years to The Brendan Voyage. But on Saturday evening
it was far better than The Pilgrim of 1087, more accessible
and more intense. From the banks of the Emerald Isle to the
Iberian coast, crossing over the diabolical sea of Albion and
the smiling Armorican, the listener / pilgrim , in his currach
rode on the sea plains for two hours, often buffeted by the
winds of Celtica and sometimes caressed by the gentle sun of
Ponant. At any moment one could meet the body of King Arthur
en route for fascinating Avalon. Yes, one was there, at the
heart of these myths which bathe the coasts of the Atlantic
be it by the grace of collective consciousness or by a simple
flight of uilleann pipes.
The classical instruments soften where the bagpipes, bombardes
or gaitas grate and the traditional instruments bring the former
the savagery they lack. Fusion, one would say, total fusion
gave the whole thing a completely new colour and brilliance
without equal. This without mentioning the voice, certainly
that of Rita Connolly and Liam O'Maonlai, that of Gilles Servat
narrating and the 200-strong choir - without them The Pilgrim
would not have that human depth, this gift which moves us so
profoundly. It's necessary also to salute the performance of
Guy Berrier, the conductor, who made that music with the strange
lineage his own with startling mastery. The whole crew of this
musical voyage were themselves the climax of the event.
WHAT INSPIRATION! WHAT ENERGY!"
Le Telegramme 14/8/00
The performance of The Pilgrim at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
THE PILGRIM was originally commissioned
by the Lorient Interceltique Festival in 1983 to celebrate the kinship
of the Celtic people. To Date it has been performed at the festival
four times with a special millennium performance in August 2000.
Irish performances began at the National Concert Hall; Dublin in
1984 and, at the end of 1990, THE PILGRIM was specially performed
at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall to mark the passing of European
City of Culture from Glasgow to Dublin on December 31st 1990, a
performance of 'The Pilgrim' at the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall marked
the occasion and the work was again recorded live. This second recording
forms the basis of the revised and extended version of the work
(Tara 3032). THE PILGRIM had its US debut at Chicago's Metropolitan
Hall, in aid of Old St. Patrick's Cathedral, in 1999 with Frank
McCourt as Narrator.
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The year 2000 saw three performances
of THE PILGRIM, the concert at the 30th anniversary of the Lorient
Interceltique festival which was narrated by leading French
singer Giles Servat was the highlight of the festival, while
the concert, narrated by Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley, at
the Blanchardstown Centre, Dublin in March won for the center
the prestigious 'Purple Apple Marketing Award' from the British
Council of Shopping Centers (BCSC). September 2000 saw a very
special performance of THE PILGRIM at the Gaelic language college,
Sabhal Mor Ostaig, on the Isle of Skye as part of the St. Columba
Initiative. This concert was on a much smaller scale to suit
a more intimate venue. The role of the orchestra was assumed
by the 12 piece BT Scottish Ensemble with a 14 piece choir drawn
from the Glasgow City Choir. This combined with an array of
soloists and The Pilgrim Band proved to be every bit as powerful
and exhilarating as the extended lineup. Such was the response
to the Lorient festival performance that the concert was re-staged
at the 2001 festival to and audience of 5000.
"The
5000 spectators rise as one in an ovation that is spontaneous,
enthusiastic, poignant: "The Pilgrim ", on Saturday evening
in Kergroise, was a triumph that one sees very little of."
Jean-Jacques - Le Telegramme
"For the finale
the audience are on their feet, clapping hands while singing.
No less than four encores are required, without counting the
choral society, taking a refrain once again. Public as musicians,
each one finally having to leave, with their heads full of images
to dream all in music." Aurélie
Notar - Ouest France
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