HE is regarded as one of the greatest poets Scotland has ever produced; now some of William Soutar’s work has been recreated in a CD of poignant songs.
The music aims to both celebrate Soutar and bring his early 20th century works into the 21st century with renewed meaning and strength.
A leading figure of the Scottish literary renaissance, Soutar, from Perth, died of tuberculosis in 1943 after many years of ill health. He was 45 years of age.
His biographer Alexander Scott later said: “His poetry was the prize wrested from a battle against death and despair which he fought for half a lifetime.”
The production of the new CD and an accompanying songbook is the culmination of the In A Sma’ Room project which began in 2012 with a commission by the Friends of William Soutar.
Initially a music and theatre performance integrating songs with a script written by another Perth-based creative, Ajay Close, it introduces characters from Soutar’s life through the concept of a medium. The performance was part of the prestigious Made in Scotland Showcase at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The songs were written by Perth-based singer, songwriter, composer, and arranger Debra Salem, with Paul Harrison and Kevin MacKenzie, and the CD has five new songs that were not part of the original theatre performance.
The music is influenced by the folk, jazz and classical backgrounds of the three composers, and the recording ensemble includes the composers themselves, along with percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir, bass player Andrew Robb and Perth’s own string guru Patsy Reid, who was part of the original four-piece band from the performance.
Salem said they had always wanted to record the songs.
“Each time we performed the show at the Made in Scotland showcase, someone would always ask if the music was available to buy,” she said. “Kevin, Paul and I had always hoped we would get the opportunity to record the songs at some point along with [the] other five songs that we couldn’t fit within the live performance.
“About two years ago, we finally started to make it happen, which is when we also started to think that it would be great to produce an accompanying songbook incorporating the sheet music so others can take these songs, which are in English and Scots, and make them their own. This is our way of championing the beautiful poetry of William Soutar and sharing his words through music with audiences old and new.”
Interest in Soutar’s work in Scots and English, and for adults and children, has revived considerably in recent decades. Composer Benjamin Britten set 12 of Soutar’s poems for tenor voice and piano in 1969 and in 2014 he was the subject of a BBC radio programme by Liz Lochhead called The Still Life Poet.
The In A Sma’ Room recording and songbook project was funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign along with support from the Andrew Tannahill Fund for the Furtherance of Scottish Literature.
Both the CD and book can be obtained from debrasalem.co.uk, Amazon and Tippermuir Books, with the music downloadable from most music streaming sites including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here