Description
Sealladh (pronounced 'shall-ugh'), the new album from singer, harpist and composer Rachel Newton, began as a commission for the National Galleries of Scotland, celebrating over eighty years of live music programming at the Gallery. The commission also coincided with the opening of the new Scottish Galleries, home to the vast collection of artworks by Scottish painters, a selection of which both inspired and are in conversation with Newton's music. Each track on the album is based on a particular painting and draws on the mythology, language, history, culture and landscapes that originally set the scene for these artworks
With found sound recordings from Grant Anderson, cello from Alice Allen, production from Andy Bell, and vocals, harp, piano and synth from Newton, the album explores 'sealladh' - a Gaelic word which at once evokes a view or spectacle, the power of vision and elements of the supernatural.
The artists which best convey 'sealladh' for Newton include William McTaggart (b. 1835), a Gaelic speaker born in Kintyre, whose reverence for the Scottish seascapes through his paintings became a springboard for many of the tracks on Newton's album. Pieces such as 'Machrihanish Bay' and 'Quiet Sunset, Machrihanish' are further inspired by Newton's visits to the locations in Kintyre where William McTaggart painted some his most famous works.
Grant Anderson joined Newton on these pilgrimages, and recorded the sound of waves, birdsong and the harp playing in the wind, to catch the serenity of McTaggart's brushstrokes and to make the listener feel as if they are inside one of these vast paintings.
Another major influence for the album was Phoebe Anna Traquair (b. 1852, Dublin), who moved to Edinburgh and became one of the first women artists to achieve mainstream recognition in Scotland. Inspired by the four tapestries which make up Traquair's 'The Progress of the Soul' - thought to depict the soul's journey from birth through the trials of life to ultimate salvation - Newton translates Traquair's bold, arresting images of 'Entrance', 'Despair', 'Stress' and 'Victory' into improvisational harp vignettes which thread the album together.
The third artist featured on the record is John Duncan (b. 1866, Dundee), one of the leading representatives of the Celtic Revival. With his paintings, Newton has taken the opportunity to delve into Celtic mythology and merge traditional Gaelic songs with newly composed pieces of music.
A unique listening experience, Sealladh achieves a poetic sound which captures the essence of Scottish sea and sky, at times reaching the sublime. In a fitting full circle moment, Newton performed Sealladh in the recently unveiled Scottish Galleries space in Autumn 2023 - surrounded by the very artworks which served as the album's inspiration.
Sealladh will be released on Hudson Records on 31.05.24 as an art book with CD which includes all the paintings that inspired the music.
