Pianodrome Live: Twelfth Day + Vulva Voce
Friday 26th August 9pm
Twelfth Day
Why limit yourself to a label? That’s the mantra of Twelfth Day - Catriona Price and Esther Swift, two young Scottish virtuosos who offer a musically ground- breaking amalgam of chamber music, Scottish folk music, jazz-funk and electronica.
Though Twelfth Day wear their rich and varied experience with pride – their folk roots, their classical training – this duo are more than a simple product, an exponent, of their practice. It is their inherent curiosity, their need to understand through experimentation, that compels them to create their unique, genre-bending music. Catriona and Esther challenge each other to challenge the listener. It can be heard in the way that they push their vocals far beyond the boundaries of what may be anticipated. It can be heard in the way the violin and harp surprise each other to drive the track somewhere new. It can be heard in the lyrics that invite to reassess, reimagine, reinterpret.
Their latest album. Face To Face (2019) was nominated in the ‘Innovation in New Traditional Music’ category in the 2020 Scottish Awards for New Music. It picks up where Cracks In The Room (2017) left off, continuing to confront societal conventions by exploring a wealth of urgent current issues, such as gender roles, power balance and the challenges of working in the arts as a young woman; the threat of climate change and society’s reluctance to act; and the struggles of mental health.
Multi vocal harmonies, layered strings and recording sessions at Scotland’s famous Castlesound Studios and the Reid Concert Hall in Edinburgh has resulted in a varied and innovative compendium of songs which will inevitably draw comparisons to Hannah Peel, Stealing Sheep, Haiku Salut, Lisa Knapp, Bjork... well-crafted songs that take their influences from a multitude of places and performers and lodge themselves firmly in the ears and brain.
Musically, Face To Face breaks new ground for both duo and listener. It’s the first record where Twelfth Day are joined by drums and double bass, enjoying the opportunity to further their own skills and give their music a new energy with drummer John Lowrie and bassist Andrew Robb.
Vulva Voce
“Rarely have I felt so moved (and frankly, knocked sideways) by a string ensemble performance.” Michelle Phillips RNCM
Violins: Julia Sandros-Alper, Georgina MacDonell Finlayson
Viola: Nadia Eskandari
Cello: Lucy McLuckie
Vulva Voce is an all-female genre-defying string quartet that brings exciting, dynamic performances of music composed by women and underrepresented voices to spaces and venues beyond the concert hall. Their mission is to break away from long held conventions of classical music and the string quartet, presenting audiences with radical and refreshing musical experiences. All classically trained, but with interests in folk, jazz, improvisation, contemporary classical and experimental music making, their performances are a unique delve into female composers from across centuries. Tonight’s programme will include music from two of the most well loved female composers of the 21st century Jessie Montgomery and Caroline Shaw. It will also include string quartet movements from the pioneering African-American composer Florence Beatrice Price, a folk arrangement by the quartet’s own Georgina MacDonell Finlayson and meditations and improvisations from the experimental American composer Pauline Oliveros. Established in 2021 at the Royal Northern College of Music, Vulva Voce are winners of RNCM’s StART Creative Innovator Award 2022 and the Elias Chamber Music Prize. They have recently performed at Manchester’s Connect Chamber Music Festival and EMPOWER’s International Women’s Day event. This summer, they were the resident quartet at the South Downs Summer Music Festival.