Sunday Sessions: Music of the Sea: Mareel
The sea is a constant presence in Shetland.
as they have done for centuries, the waters continue to shape lives and landscapes in these islands which lie to the north of mainland Scotland.
Fiddle player and composer Jenna Reid grew up in Shetland. That water borne connection came to her mind when she was asked by cellist Su-a Lee to choose a piece of music from Shetland that the two of them could work on for an album of duets Su-a had in mind.
Jenna suggested the tune Mareel, which was written by her teacher Tom Anderson.
That glint, that glimmer, that flicker of light you see in the sea at night, especially in the autumn: that’s Mareel.
“The recurring patterns in the melody are almost tide-like, returning again and again,” Jenna writes.
Su-a remembers receiving a voice note on her phone with the tune, which Jenna had recorded late at night after her children had gone to bed.
“…and by the end, I had tears running down my cheeks at the sheer beauty of it,” Su-a recalled.
Jenna Reid and Su-a Lee arranged and recorded Mareel for Su-a album Dialogues.
At this writing it is near the time of World Oceans Day which takes place each year early in June. It is a time when caring for and honoring the seas is especially celebrated. Mareel could make a good choice for listening if you are joining in celebrations of the ocean.
In addition to making her own albums, Jenna ia a member of Blazin’ Fiddles, and has other projects on the go. Not long ago, she published her first children’s book.
Here’s Jenna teaching a tune
Su-a Lee is a renown cellist working in both classical (she’s a member of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra) and folk realms, and sometimes getting into other genres as well. There w ill be more to say of that Dialogues album in future.
About the album The Woods from Hamish Napier. on which Su-a also appears
If you’d like to make a one of contribution to support my work, you could buy me a coffee (were we to meet in person it would be tea for me, but you get the thought) at Ko-Fi. Thank you