Anna-Wendy Stevenson - My Edinburgh

(February 2011) 19 tracks (1h 18mins): Fred Thomson's Reel * Newhaven Sunset * Burke And Hare * Grove Street * Edinburgh Nights * New Town * Audrey's Jig * Calton Hill * Arthur's Seat * Fred Thomson's Reel Revisited.

An original work combining lyrical melody with evocative prose to create a series of musical postcards of her hometown.

Commissioned by (and first performed at) Glasgow's 2006 Celtic Connections Festival, Anna Wendy Stevenson's My Edinburgh remains one of the most memorable concerts in the festival's long-running New Voices series.

Anna Wendy Stevenson (violin) with Robert McFall (violin), Matheu Watson (violin), Claire Sterling (violin), Brian Schiele (viola), Mairi Campbell (viola), Su-a Lee (cello), Lesley Henning (cello), Fraser Fifield (saxophone), Luke Plumb (mandolin, bouzouki), Fos Patterson (piano) and Donald Hay (percussion). With the voices of Freddie Thomson, Audrey MacLennan, Colin MacLennan and Dave Francis.

"I was brought up in the beautiful city of Edinburgh, and while writing this piece I lived in a little nest of a flat, high up, right next to the castle. I have drawn inspiration from various locations, architecture, festivals, but most of all from people I've met through my musical life, such as Edinburgh's famous Sandy Bell's pub..." (Anna-Wendy Stevenson)

"Her music is never glib, showy nor shallow, but is the expression of a young woman in love with, and at home in culture - in the poetry, art and music of Scotland. Great taste and superlative technique flow together in her playing. Whether in a classical ensemble or traditional folk group, she is recognised as having a rare gift..." (Norman Chalmers)

"This is a rich, seriously wrought, contemporary composition, albeit rooted in the joy of traditional form, beautifully performed by the cream of Scottish instrumentalists." (The Scotsman)