TOLBOOTH PRESENTS A TALE OF TOLBOOTH FOLLOWED BY A LIVE PERFORMANCE OF MILESTONE.
A TALE OF TOLBOOTH:
In March 2021 Tolbooth Stirling commissioned composer and musician Duncan Lyall to create a bespoke score to accompany a visual art exhibition at Tolbooth Gallery. Five Visual Artists had been commissioned following a callout, to each create a piece of work, to be exhibited in a group multimedia show ‘A Tale of Tolbooth’, Duncan was set the challenge of creating a unique musical accompaniment to this exhibition.
Titled ‘A Tale Of Tolbooth’, the exhibition, funded by Creative Scotland, displayed each artists response to Tolbooth through the ages, taking inspiration from the buildings varied past and exciting present, its unique history and current place in Stirling’s vibrant arts scene.
We were bowled over by the incredible piece of music that Duncan created for the exhibition, taking not just inspiration from the building but using the building itself in the work, with the sound of Tolbooth’s bell tower chiming throughout the piece.
The score contributed to a unique multisensory experience for those viewing the exhibition, and when the show closed, we felt we simply had to do more with this wonderful composition. We threw some ideas around with Duncan, and in August 2021, thanks to some additional funding from Creative Scotland, we set Duncan the task of turning this fantastic piece of work from a recorded work, to a performable piece, incorporating recorded elements and live contributions from musicians Ali Hutton and Patsy Reid.
We are thrilled to now be able to bring you this work, performed live at Tolbooth, by Duncan and band.
MILESTONE:
Milestone is the new album from composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Duncan Lyall. A busy performer on the folk scene as bassist with Kate Rusby and Treacherous Orchestra, Lyall’s profile is rounded with cross-genre collaborations including touring with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Vince Mendoza and orchestra, working with Mark Knopfler on his stage adaptation of Local Hero and recording and performing with Craig Armstrong.
This ambitious and intimate composition, commissioned by Celtic Connections festival 2019, is an exploration of Lyall’s own emotion and memory around powerful moments in his musical and personal life.
The Moog synthesiser is central to the sound of Milestone: “Although I’m probably best known as a double bass player; it didn’t seem to have a place on this album. The Moog is such a great bass instrument. Some of the melody lines are also played on the Moog.”
“I started using a Moog with Treacherous Orchestra when we recorded Grind back in 2014. Ever since, the Moog has become a big part of my sound as a performing and recording musician. It’s so versatile that it works equally well with Kate Rusby’s softer folk songs or Croft No. Five’s punk-folk mayhem”
“Clearly the product of a wide and profound musical intelligence… this is progressive contemporary music at its best” The Living Tradition
Tolbooth @ 20.
In 2022 Tolbooth turns 20 years old. To celebrate we’ll be hosting a series of 20 special events across the year, ranging from music, art, film, festivals and workshops. Each of these events will be listed on our Festivals page, check back as we’ll be announcing more soon!
#TolboothAt20