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Swedish Nyckelharpa & Scottish Harp Catriona and Olov have been occasionally playing Scottish harp and nyckelharpa since having a few tunes back stage before a gig by Fiddlers' Bid and Väsen at 'Nybrokajen 11, in Stockholm in 2002. Catriona had learnt the tune 'Spelmansglädje' from a recording by the composer of this wonderful tune 'Eric Sahlström' on the cd 'Fiddlers from Five Provinces' not realising the wonderful musical connection she would make when playing it with Olov Johansson that afternoon after the 2 bands rehearsed an encore together for the concert. Since that meeting, they were looking for opportunities to explore further the combination of Scottish harp and Nyckelharpa. In January 2007 they had the opportunity to play a duo set at the "Fiddlers' Bid International" concert at Celtic Connections 2006. During the festival they made time to record 2 sets for Olov's latest solo album 'I Lust Och Glöd'. ( www.drone.se ) In 2007 they performed together at Olov's album launch in Uppsala Concert Hall and at Folkmusikens Hus, Rättvik. In January 2008, Olov was a musician in Catriona's new piece FLOE - a Celtic Connections 2008 commission. Catriona wrote 'Olov's Polska' as part of FLOE especially for Olov. They had 4 sets filmed by Scottish Television up in Dingwall. In the summer 2008 they toured in Sweden. In April 2009 they released their first CD called Foogy at the International Harp Festival in Edinburgh and then followed tours in Sweden in June & July.
Catriona was appointed "Instrumentalist of the year 07" at "Scots Trad Music Awards 2007" Olov became "World champion in Nyckelharpa" in Österbybruk 1990. More info on: www.catrionamckay.co.uk & www.olovjohansson.se Reviews
Lori Gordon On May 18, 2009 Outstanding world class folk music Foogy? When Olov sent the tune "Foggy" to Catriona McKay, he spelled it "Foogy." Minutes before the concert some people are talking about modern and old mobile signals and that feels like a strange contrast to the concert. Both the Nyckelharpa and the Harp leads your thoughts to ancient times and even if the folk music coming from the instruments is a modern variant it's breathing timelessness. Something that the portraits of the old distinguished gentlemen and the woven coat of arms on the walls suits better with. The music from the recording Foogy , released at the concert, feels just about as fresh as folk music can be. Catriona McKay's harp playing , by itself makes all possible folk music moth balls to swirl away and Olov Johansson is a master in composing modern folk music that sounds current/timely and sound without needing to use any drastic moves. Their talent is also showed when the duo brings in older traditional material in their repertoire, For ex. Byss-Calle vals. Rather close to the original, but still sparkling new. In this tune the musician's interaction goes into a new dimension, sometimes changing roles , sometimes colliding. Catriona McKay tells us that the interest for fishing is wide spread among Scottish fiddlers. Therefore she and Olov Johansson were more or less forced for honors sake to go out fishing while working on the album. No fish was caught, but the trip ended up in the tune Mr Fish instead. And all in the audience in the crowded hall thinks that was a better catch than the fish that got away. At the end of the hour long concert, when the sun falls through the narrow windows, everything is just so perfect that it almost feels good when Catriona show off so much that Olov Johansson gets lost in the music. That gives perspective to the degree of difficulty the cross bar is set to and reminds you of how much you would have missed if it wouldn't have been two musicians of outstanding world class playing. "The nyckelharpa and harp combination is fresh, charming and dynamic" Lars Fahlin Rock'n'Reel - Roots, Rock, Blues and Beyond |
