Jonathan Dodd shares this review a recent concert. Guest opinion articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. Ed
I was lucky enough to be able to attend the first concert by Vectian at Quay Arts last weekend. It was the only concert this new Island-based band is playing this summer, and I sincerely hope there will be more.
Vectian are an intriguing mixture of styles and influences, and they produce a unique sound. All their songs and music are written by Chris Hirst, Head of Music at Christ the King College, using his favourite poetry for lyrics.
The musicians and singer
The band is composed of Chris, who plays a specially-made Mandora, a stringed instrument similar to a lute, which produces a very distinctive warm, slightly mournful sound. Philip Grainger plays the cello, and Rene Mairis plays the accordion.
The band is completed by Polly Green, a former student of Christ the King, who has been studying at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, and will soon start at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London.
A loose seasonal framework
All the music was arranged in a loose seasonal framework, starting with Autumn and ending with Summer, and the mood of the music reflected the seasons as they followed each other through the evening, and beautiful photographs of Island scenery and wildlife by Sienna Anderson of Soul Photography were projected behind them to add to the seasonal theme.
Chris is fascinated by Portugal, its language and music, and the sound of the three instruments together gave a feel of Portugal, and some of the lyrics were Portuguese poems, sung in Portuguese in Polly’s rich Soprano voice. This combination of themes and tones produced a unique sound and texture to the music, which was enjoyed by a sizable audience.
World War One tribute
The concert started with a tribute to the fallen in World War One, a poem by Siegfried Sassoon set to music and played with images from that way projected in the background. Autumn was represented by poems written by Derek Mahon, John Greenleaf Whittier and Antero de Quental (in Portuguese), and autumnal images.
These were followed by the Winter section, a beautiful instrumental called ‘Saudade’ a Portuguese word describing loss and loneliness at being away from home and loved ones for long periods, another poem by Sassoon, and a song called ‘Snowbound’ using a poem by Whittier, and inspired by the Island being so beautiful when covered in snow earlier this year.
Watching day break from the cliffs at Culver
After the break, the mood changed from sombre and reflective to brighter and more hopeful, with the advent of Spring. It started with a song called Daybreak, with words written by Chris Hirst, using a Portuguese poem by Luis de Camões as inspiration, as well as watching day break from the cliffs at Culver.
This was followed by another Camões poem, which was beautiful. An instrumental followed, a tribute to a cat called Cino. Spring concluded with a heartfelt instrumental originally written when Chris had to manage without his future wife for a whole summer, and played by Chris solo on the mandora.
In the Summer section, the band warmed to their work. They had never performed many of these songs before, and they relaxed and began to enjoy themselves properly, all of them loosening up and playing together and individually even better. Polly started to respond to the audience whilst introducing the songs, and the last three of these whizzed by in a wash of pleasure.
There was another of Sassoon’s poems, set in a summer garden, another with original words by Chris about relaxing through a summer day in a garden, and a final piece with words by Louise Townsend Nicholl, depicting waves celebrating their beauty, perfection and individual uniqueness.
A unique and inspired sound
By the time the band gave their encore performance, breaking into a classic performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, they were playing to a roomful of fans.
I was really glad to see a group of local musicians creating such a unique and inspired sound, bringing together such diverse elements and making them work in such interesting ways, and I shall look forward to seeing how they develop, both musically and as a band. I wish them luck, and great success.
All the proceeds from the concert went to the Donkey Sanctuary, which would welcome any contributions you could afford.
Images: © Jonathan Dodd
Image: Mandora by Ingersoll under CC BY 2.0
