Following her previous solo works Solas (2016), Fairge (2017) and Trian (2019) Saor [pronounced Sieur: meaning “free” in Scottish Gaelic] is the first release in a triptych of albums, inspired by escapes to the peaks of Claire M Singer’s homeland of Scotland. Saor perfectly encapsulates Claire’s experimental approach to the pipe organ, exploring rich harmonic textures and complex overtones creating ever-shifting melodic and rhythmic patterns, which conjure visions of the Scottish dramatic landscapes she is inspired by.
“Saor follows two narratives: my trekking across the Cairngorm mountains in Aberdeenshire through the granite plateaux, corries, glens and straths, and my exploration of the 1872 Conacher organ in Forgue Kirk Aberdeenshire where many of my ancestors lie”.
Claire M Singer
Tracks that are directly influenced by Munros, such as Cairn Toul and Braeriach, are both majestic and sublime in their scope, sitting alongside interludes that more generally allude to the instrument: Stops, Pressure, Above and Below.
For the past 10 years, Claire has been the music director of the 1877 ‘Father’ Henry Willis organ at the world-famous Union Chapel, one of several organs that feature on the album. Before the job came up, she had become an evangelist for the possibilities of the instrument, encouraging peers to write for the organ experimentally, and planning an organ festival in her head, something that became a reality with Organ Reframed in 2016, a unique festival curated by Claire which has commissioned Chris Watson, Éliane Radigue, Low, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Philip Jeck, Craig Armstrong, Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie and many more.
When writing her first organ commission in 2006 Claire approached the instrument as a sound source rather than how it is conventionally played. She has never had a lesson in her life and when she got the job at Union Chapel she developed her own way of playing, including using straws or chopsticks to hold down the keys so she could manipulate the wind through the stops. About 90% of her sound, she says, involves her having one hand or two on the stops – having a full physical relationship with the instrument, continuously tweaking and exploring the mechanical stop action as she progresses her melodies.
Much of the album was written or recorded in Claire’s home county, at Forgue Kirk in Aberdeenshire. This was a church she didn’t know before, in a remote spot, up a slight hill near a small cluster of houses. A friend at Union Chapel recommended the organ to her; she later found out from her mother that many of her ancestors were buried there.
“I had this weird stars aligning moment – during my residency at Forgue I spotted a gravestone propped up in the pews which was being restored, and it was Peter Forsyth, one of my relatives.”
Across the album, tracks flutter, pulse and build into imposing masses. Some use electronic processing and distortion to suggest texture and weather, others rely on the organ itself for heady atmospheres, while Saor’s title track goes even further. Recorded at Orgelpark, Amsterdam, an international concert hall for organists, it uses five instruments in layers that span four centuries. Claire also plays cello, mellotron and harmonium on the album, and there are contributions from strings (Patsy Reid), trumpet (Brian Shook), clarinets (Yann Ghiro) and French horn (Andy Saunders).
Saor is the start of an adventure that brings the same sense of elation as the artist’s journeys on foot to the top of the world.
“When I am at the top of a Munro by myself I feel completely free. It’s the most exhilarating feeling to be up there with nature looking at this vast landscape in front of you. I hope Saor conveys how that feels, and carries people with it.”
Saor is generously supported by Arts Council England, PRS Foundation’s Composers’ Fund in partnership with Jerwood Arts, the Friends of Forgue Kirk, the Richard Thomas Foundation and Orgelpark, Amsterdam.
Album launch: Saturday 11th November, Orgelpark, Amsterdam 20.15
