Luminous and poignant … Sally Beamish's House of Wonder. Photograph: Will Coates-Gibson
Sally Beamish celebrates 70 years on planet Earth with an eclectic and profoundly personal album featuring friends and members of her talented musical family. At the centre of it all is Beamish herself, a musical shapeshifter, at home in classical, jazz or folk fiddle, performing on her own instrument, the viola.
A Family Affair
It opens with April, a luminous chaconne for viola and accordion memorialising her friend, jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. Equally poignant is Gerropaedie for viola and harp, a Satie-inspired birthday gift for an elderly patron.
Much here is autobiographical. Crescent, a trio for viola, piano and trumpet, is inspired by family games growing up in Islington, wistfully offset by what she refers to as her father's emotional absence. The likable Sally's Tune is a portrait piece by Celtic folk musicians Catriona McKay and Chris Stout.
Musical Shapeshifter
As for the family, there's Lurk, a sly, spiky tango for accordion and viola by singer-songwriter son Laurie, while the mournful Where You Are is by her other son Tom. House of Wonder, which immortalises the summerhouse where Beamish would withdraw to compose, is written, played and sung by harpist daughter Stephanie, and Beamish's bluesy Night Songs include singsong vocals by her husband, the writer Peter Thomson.
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