Some of you will recall the name Tamsin Elliott, a composer and filmmaker from Bristol, who is also a member of the band Solana. Back in July, we shared an incredible music documentary that she directed which followed eight musicians living at her small house in Bristol during lockdown.
From what I’ve seen of Tamsin’s work, there is a rich thread of collaboration throughout, one which both celebrates and highlights the coming together of cultures and music – something we need more of. The results are always refreshingly inventive and exciting as proven by Gathering, Parting (When Bright Shines the Moon), a new composition for lever harp, oud and percussion on which Tamsin is joined by oud player Tarek Elazhary and percussionist Salma Amr (Cairo, Egypt). The accompanying video, much like the music, has a dreamlike and mesmerising quality that blends studio footage, choreography and street scenes of Cairo – one for fans of Anouar Brahem, Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, Trio Joubran.
Beginning with a meditative free-time improvisation on the harp, the piece builds gradually, underpinned by a shape shifting groove rooted in a slow seven. The gathering momentum is augmented by bursts of footage shot from the back of a motorbike, opening into the spine-tingling spaciousness of Tarek’s oud solo and the sudden expanse of Sinai’s mountains framing dancer Hesham Al Qersh.
Tamsin says “although the imagery could suggest myriad meanings, for me it’s about finding solace in both the wild mountain landscape and the bustle of Cairo’s streets. Human connection is at the heart of this collaboration.” In just over six minutes, the piece offers a dialogue between the different traditions of the artists as they gather to explore their shared passion through music that transcends borders.
It brings us immense pleasure to share this new collaboration with you all…Tamsin talks more on how the collaboration came about below.
Tamsin Elliott on Gathering, Parting
I travelled to Egypt in 2017, following my interest in Arabic music, with the seedling ideas that form this piece and a small harp in tow*. My friend Samir (who you see on the motorbike throughout the film) introduced me to Cairo’s burgeoning music scene and I spent a wild two months playing music with an ever-expanding group of incredible musicians.
Among those I met was the brilliant oud player Tarek Elazhary, who studied under Naseer Shamma and now teaches at the Arabic Oud House. His band Dokkan are at the forefront of Cairo’s contemporary music scene with their fusion of Oriental (Arabic) and Western influences. We spent hours on my downtown balcony teaching each other tunes we had written or were working on, and I guested with Dokkan at a memorable Cairo Jazz Club gig.
I met Salma Amr right at the end of that stay and we clicked straight away; I was sad to be leaving and not have more time to work on music together. Her natural flair and love of asymmetric rhythms meant that I thought of her immediately when I decided to return to Cairo this year.
Before going I arranged “Gathering, Parting” for a trio: harp, oud and percussion, and recorded the harp with producer and folk musician Sid Goldsmith. I took the recording to Cairo in January and recorded Tarek’s oud and Salma’s percussion with good friend and producer KUBBARA at the controls. We also managed to squeeze in a live recording at the end of the day, an arrangement of traditional Asturian tonada “Coyi d’un Artu una Flor” for oud, flute and riq.
After a dusty, busy few weeks in Cairo I travelled to stay with friends in Dahab, and we filmed dancer and mountain guide Hesham Al Qersh performing the piece with the most epic sunset unfolding over the mountains of Sinai behind him.
*Don’t ask me why I took the harp, it was madness. Somehow only one lever broke off on the plane.
Tamsin is currently creating new work supported by Sound and Music as part of the New Voices composer development programme.
Find out more here: http://www.tamsinelliott.co.uk/