Glasgow Letter - 20.3.25
I have heard many Gaelic choir performances over the years.
In fact, the accusation was once levelled against me that I’ve sung in more Gaelic choirs than I’ve had hot dinners.
I can honestly say, however, that I can’t recall hearing one sound as good as the GG last Friday night in their final show under the conductor’s baton of Kenneth Thomson.
Making this claim on the night could have been deemed unwise given the amount of audience members affiliated with other Gaelic choirs; but everyone was in total agreement that we had witnessed a concert for the ages.
It is hard to put one’s finger on exactly why it was so good. Perhaps it was the sheer volume of singers on the stage: the usual Mòd number limits not applying. Perhaps it was the perfect acoustic of the wooden panelled New Auditorium. Maybe it was the in-house sound engineer – a pal of mine who ensured the perfect balance between the parts. These were all factors, but I am utterly convinced the essential ingredient was the choir’s determination to give absolutely every ounce of their energy and conviction to the cause of their beloved conductor’s last hurrah.
Their adoration for Kenny was palpable as their smiles beamed out from the stage while Cathy Bhàn talked us through the highlights of his 42-year tenure and footage of Kenneth and the choir appeared on a big screen above them.
Old classics such as An Eala Bhàn and Soraidh Leis an Àit’ (both Kenneth’s arrangements) were sung with renewed emotion, while new pieces, such as an impressively multi-faceted Iain Cormack arrangement of Fàgail Ghlaschu, were delivered with a sense of excitement and vigour.
Then there were the soloists. Among the choir ranks, there were certainly plenty medalists to choose from. The stage displayed more gold than a Dumbarton Road pawn shop!
They certainly chose wisely: Joanie Morrison, Ryan Johnston, Joy Dunlop and Donald-Iain Brown all delighted the audience – some entirely solo and some with the perfect accompaniment of Kathryn Callander.
Jenna Cumming (a former GG member) gave a particularly special performance of Runrig’s An t-iasgair with the stunning backing of the choir. Finlay Johnston and Kenneth’s grandson, Archie Thomson, were the pipers for the evening.
The final word must go to the performance of Kenny himself who sang a piece I mentioned in last week’s article.
A Kintyre man, Kenneth composed his own musical setting of the Kintyre Scots poetry of George Campbell Hay which includes a most poignant song called “The Old Fisherman”. As he stepped up to the microphone, he judged correctly that his own solo performance needed no longer introduction than: “the old conductor is going to sing The Old Fisherman”.
If there was a dry eye in the house by the time he finished, I didn’t see it.
Shortly after, as the choir reached their finale, the 660 strong crowd rose to their feet not once but twice.
It was a fitting display of appreciation for a magnificent concert which brought down the curtain on an equally magnificent 42 years.
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