Sealladh

This Scottish harpist and singer was commissioned by The National Galleries of Scotland to make music and songs paired with specific paintings, evoking the ‘sealladh’ (view, spectacle, vision) of each one. The painter William McTaggart is prominent, as is Phoebe Anna Traquair and Celtic revivalist John Duncan. Newton’s voice and harp are accompanied by field recordings from nature by Grant Anderson, linking the 12 pieces into a whole. ‘Machrihanish Bay’, for instance, perfectly envelops and evokes McTaggart’s seascape, the mix of music and nature creating a liminal space, a sound portal for meditation and reflection, and this air, this ambiance carries through to Newton’s song based on his ‘The Sailing of the Emigrant Ship’ while the shimmering reverb of ‘Despair’ evokes Traquair’s embroidery of the same name. Acclaimed as a solo artist and as part of the great The Furrow Collective, Newton delivers a superlative and delicate concept piece here.