Submitted by Patricia Silver
Ímar quintet gave the sold-out crowd in Edinburgh on August 14 exactly what they wanted – stirring music that captured the heart and soul of Scotland, but with a twist. This immensely talented ensemble expanded on the traditional styles to add new rhythms and arrangements that brought fresh approaches to old songs.
Named after the ninth-century Viking leader Ímar, this Glasgow-based supergroup truly embraced the spirit of music from Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. They brought new ideas and synergy between traditions to both familiar and original pieces.
The group formed as teenagers through Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, the Irish traditional music network. Each of them went on to perform in award-winning folk groups including Mànran, RURA, Mec Lir and Talisk. Collectively, they have won several BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and All-Britain/All-Ireland titles. They have come together for recordings and performances.
Each of the players is a strong soloist while perfectly blending in the ensemble. Adam Brown, originally from Suffolk, plays bodhrán, creating the rhythm and the bass. Mid-concert, he shows off his impressive technique with a frenzied drum solo. Cork-born Ryan Murphy is a master on the uilleann pipes, flutes and whistles. Violinist Tomás Callister from the Isle of Man takes traditional fiddling to a new level with rousing solo lines that dance across the strings. Along with Glasgow native Mohsen Amini on concertina, they are the epitome of flying fingers as their lines are exactly synchronized. The concertina is literally dancing in his hands as he easily plays the complicated licks. Bouzouki ace Adam Rhodes from the Isle of Man rounds out this exceptional group.
Nearly every song is in a minor key, almost pentatonic in composition. The time signatures can vary within a piece, like moving from a waltz to a reel and sometimes a march. One of the pieces added double time, and then even further picked up the pace, exhausting even the audience. Each song is introduced, usually with a story from their own lives, told in a folksy style and with humour.
The final piece is “Far”, written while they were on tour to describe the difficulty of being away from home.
By the end of the concert, the audience was singing to familiar tunes, and some people on their feet dancing. It was a joyous evening of the best of old traditions while making new musical strides with ear-catching, brilliantly performed music.