Product Description
Scathach, warrior woman and prophetess, patroness of martial arts, of
prophecy, blacksmiths and magic, is known by many names the Lady of Shadows,
the Lady of the Shadowy Isle and She Who Strikes Fear. Native to the Isle of
Skye, Scathach was thought to have set up a martial arts school there,
becoming the instructor of the great warrior prince Cuchulainn.
This short piece celebrates Scathach with canonic music that suggests the
repetition of martial arts moves demonstrated by master then precisely copied
by student. The opening is marked a sound like granite hard, implacable,
shot through with steel and diamond and refers to the character of Scathach
and to the extraordinary landscape that she inhabited.
The work contains fragments of pipe laments, calls and chorales woven
together in the traditional theme and variation form of the piobaireachd where
material is repeated in increasingly complex versions. As Scathach was reputed
to have been the finest warrior of her day, the MacCrimmon and MacArthur
families, also living on the Isle of Skye were thought to be the masters of
Piobaireachd.
The work received its first performance in 2005 as part of the collaborative
project Songs of the Earth, performed by the Scottish Clarinet Quartet and set
against the backdrop of Terry Williams stunning photographs of the Isle of
Skye.
Scathach is dedicated to the Quartet and to my daughter Freya, a martial arts
specialist in Tae Kwon Do. c Sadie Harrison 2005
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