A miller, his wife, his son, the
mill wheel - and a composer. The ingredients key to Family Business, a contemporary reinterpretation of four of James
Scott Skinner’s strathspeys commissioned by sound for soundlab. The music takes performers and
listeners on a visit to the Mill o’ Hirn to meet the miller and his family and
the Banchory-born fiddle player and composer. Like the original strathspeys are
shared informally amongst communities involving various instrumentations, Family Business is composed as a flexible
score to cater for the ever-changing group of people who make up soundlab, Aberdeen’s new music ensemble led by clarinettist Jo Nicholson.
The work culminates in a session in which the musicians improvise on the
original strathspey to emulate the constant renewal and reinvigoration of
traditional music by communities past and present. 
Family
Business is
part of a series of composition projects through which I hope to highlight the rootedness
of traditional music in communities and places and the dynamic music scene
resulting from this, and the inspiration that contemporary classical music can
take from this.
Drawing on the four strathspeys
by James Scott Skinner and the nursery rhyme The Miller of Dee, the actual
score I composed consists of a structure for improvisation. soundlab had its first rehearsal of the work yesterday and I am very
enthused to see how the piece has shaped up. A big thanks to Jo Nicholson and
the wonderful musicians, and a big thanks to sound for giving me the opportunity to write and stage this work.
The performance of Family Business will be on Sunday 16 November
at 4 pm at the Phoenix Hall at Newton Dee Village, Bieldside, Aberdeen. The
event is free and tickets are not required.
Copyright text and images Petra Vergunst
