Uncertain what happy thought or simple contingency had teamed singer-songwriter Michael Marra with Robert McFall’s eclectic ensemble, this reviewer wasn’t quite sure what to expect when he pitched up at The Queen’s Hall. No cause for concern about the quality of talent, simply how Marra and McFall at al were going to meld their clearly disparate performing styles. Music, however, is its own lingua franca, especially when the exponents are as talented as these.
Mr McFall’s Chamber have developed a deserved reputation as they have a repertoire of lesser-known classics from various genres, gently bending them to suit their own style and show the artists available to best effect. Robert McFall himself presides, offering laid-back introductions to the ensemble’s offerings, leaving Michael Marra to provide the like for his own contributions. There can have been few in the audience completely unaware of what one of
Bouncing from a beautiful Finnish number into lively tango, the Chamber's own offerings ranged from
If pals from Longniddry mourned that Michael Marra did not include the much-loved ‘Hermless’ in the on-gaeins, ‘Frieda Kahlo’s Visit to the Tay Bridge Bar’ received the rapt attention of one young Spanish lady whose attention had previously been elsewhere. Along the way, Marra had already given his possibly definitive version of ‘Green Grow the Rashes’ and his own pitch-perfect take on human capacity for good and bad ‘
A balance was judiciously struck between McFall’s instrumental pieces and Marra’s songs, giving both space in which to shine. The accompaniments which McFall’s gave to Marra’s numbers genuine ornamentation which added to, rather than obscuring their simple effect. On tour till September, and possibly en route to a festival or two, this combination of talents is already travelling.