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The Witch of Leanachan (Feat. Donald Grant)

from Dialogues by Su-a Lee

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD in digipack (includes 36-page booklet).

    It is really a double-album at 1 hour 14 minutes!

    If you preorder the CD you get BOTH the CD and the digital album download.

    The CD also comes in a stunning 3-fold digipack cover, containing:

    - an epic 36-page booklet with dialogues between the musicians, discussing their relationship and the inspirations for each chosen piece.
    - gorgeous photography by Elly Lucas
    - you INSTANTLY receive one album track download: Track 3: "Waltzska For Su-a", a duet with fellow cellist Natalie Haas.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Dialogues via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

14. THE WITCH OF LEANACHAN (FEAT. DONALD GRANT)

SU-A:

Donald and I like to have fun. We even figured out a way to play card games against each other during lockdown on Zoom calls. I first got to know Donald when we met in Amsterdam for the wedding of our good friend Eilidh Martin and I remember playing together into the wee hours. Then we met again playing with the GRIT Orchestra and have been firm friends ever since.
The process for Donald’s piece was lovely. I learned everything by ear: the melody and all the phasing patterns. Then we developed ideas for the arrangement before scoring the final version. It was so much fun to play around with textures and the phasing of lines and harmonies. The whole thing evolved so fluidly - we even continued to add extra harmonic lines while we were recording in the studio. We got quite carried away and this became the most ‘produced’ track on the album. As the last track, I thought it would be a lovely thing if all my duo collaborators could actually unite somehow, so I invited everyone to add vocals in the final chorus. My marvellous co-producer Andrea Gobbi and I then had a whole afternoon of fun playing and placing some of the vocals as textures within the track.

DONALD:

The first time I met Su-a it felt like we’d been pals for years. Perhaps everyone feels the same way? She is an exceptionally warm, open and fun human and we have always had an absolute hoot together, whether making music, climbing hills, or dancing into the night. It was an absolute pleasure to work as a duo for this album.
My background is originally in Gaelic Song as my Dad was a singer and teacher. Su-a had asked if I would sing a track (those days are most definitely behind me) but I did have this arrangement in which I sing a little, so it seemed a good fit.
I originally wrote it for my two friends Hannah and Cara and later rewrote it for my quartet and then again for String Orchestra. It was really nice to bring it back to its original form and rework it with Su-a.
Leanachan is a wood that sits at the bottom of Ben Nevis, very near my home village of Roybridge in the Highlands. There is a legend of a witch called Gorm Shuil who lived there having fled after cursing a doctor and his two brothers in the 1800s. It is said that if you look into her eyes you’ll turn to stone. There are similar stories and tales which exist in different parts of Scotland.
Whenever I play The Witch of Leanachan live in concert, I invite the audience to sing at the end. I’m so glad Su-a had the idea of asking everyone who played on the album to join us. It’s magic to hear them all.

credits

from Dialogues, released December 2, 2022
SLOW AIR: The Witch of Leanachan by Donald Grant, arr. D Grant, A Gobbi & S Lee

Donald Grant – fiddles, vocals
Su-a Lee – cellos, vocals
The Dialogues Chorus (the full album cast) – vocals

Produced by Su-a Lee & Andrea Gobbi

Engineered by Andrea Gobbi - all tracks recorded, mixed & mastered by Andrea Gobbi at GloWorm Recording, Glasgow, except additional recording for track 2 by Rimmert van Lummel).

Album concept by Hamish Napier

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Su-a Lee Edinburgh, UK

Su-a Lee is one of Scotland’s most versatile, adventurous and charismatic cellists - she's worked with icons Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce (Cream) and Peter Erskine (Weather Report) She works extensively in the UK classical and folk music scenes and is a founding member of the highly innovative Mr. McFall’s Chamber and a long standing member of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Assistant Principal Cello) ... more

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