- Savourna Stevenson
Savourna Stevenson (born 1961) is a renowned Scottish
clarsach player and composer. While she is identified as an interpreter of Scottish traditional music, she has also made inroads into world music, blues and jazz.Her father is the Scottish composer
Ronald Stevenson .Anna-Wendy Stevenson , the Scottish fiddle player, is her niece.Her musical career began in the late 1970s; at the age of 15, she was already playing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with folk legends such as
Fairport Convention ,Ralph McTell andMartin Carthy . Subsequent work involved her collaborating withDave Swarbrick ,Aly Bain andDavy Spillane .She started to receive commissions for new music for theatre, dance and concerts. She first came to national attention with the 1989 album Tweed Journey, which describes a journey down the
River Tweed – separating Scotland from England – from its source to its mouth atBerwick-upon-Tweed . This album saw her experiment with the harp in an electric setting with rock and jazz musicians.Later work saw her collaborate with the
Bhundu Boys andToumani Diabate and participate inWomad festivals around the world. As a songwriter she has worked with writers such asMichael Marra and singers such asJune Tabor andEddi Reader .Her Harp String Quartet featured in the American TV series
Sex and the City , while her orchestral work Misterstourworm and the Kelpie’s Gift was performed for the first time by theRoyal Scottish National Orchestra in 2003. She was then commissioned by Children’s Classic Concerts to write a new work for children. The result, Hansel and Gretel, was premiered and toured across Scotland during 2005.Her most recent album, Persian Knight Celtic Dawn (2006), is a mix of Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. It features song settings from ‘The Prophet’ by
Kahlil Gibran and lyrics by the Gaelic poetAonghas MacNeacail .The release of Hansel & Gretel on Circular Records has been announced for January 2009.
Discography
Tweed Journey (1989)
Tusitala, Teller of Tales (1996)
Cutting the Chord (1996)
Calman the Dove (2000)
Celtic Harp (retrospective) (2000)
Touch Me Like the Sun (2000)
Persian Knight Celtic Dawn (2006)
References
* [http://www.scotsman.com/features/Well-connected-from-the-Middle.2743148.jp] Press article from
The Scotsman .External links
* [http://www.savournastevenson.com/ Official Website]
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