Take a musical journey with Nan Shepherd into the Cairngorms
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Cairngorms words, music and images are coming together in one of the highlights of the on-going Cairngorms Nature Festival
Merryn Glover, of Kincraig – the first writer in residence for the Cairngorms National Park – is teaming up with Grantown folk musician Hamish Napier for a unique performance called 'In a New Light'.
In their collaboration – premiering at Glenbuchat Hall in Strathdon this Wednesday evening – the author and musician take the audience into fresh revelations of the Cairngorms with Nan Shepherd as muse and guide.
In this original performance, Glover weaves readings from her acclaimed 'The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd' together with Napier’s locally-inspired music.
As his melodies on piano, whistles and flutes range from traditional old tunes of the area to his original compositions, Glover’s Cairngorms photos transport the audience to the hills.
In her recent book, 'The Hidden Fires', Glover undertook the challenge of the Cairngorm mountains with Nan Shepherd as companion and guiding light.
Following in the footsteps and contours of 'The Living Mountain', she explored the same landscapes and themes as Shepherd’s seminal work but from a radically different beginning.
For the performance, 'In a New Light', Glover takes the audience on key steps of that journey, from the origins for both Shepherd in Aberdeenshire and herself in the Himalayas, to their points of communion and divergence in the Cairngorms.
Glover said: “The Cairngorms are such a dramatic mountain range that this show is a great opportunity to lift my book off the page in a theatrical reading.
"Having worked with Hamish on several projects, our two voices of text and music weave seamlessly and this has been so fun to create together.
"Nan Shepherd was a great festival go-er, so I think she would have been delighted by this too.”
Books and CDs will be available for purchase at the event and there will be plenty of time to talk with Hamish and Merryn over refreshments at the end.
Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm start.
Booking is essential via the Cairngorms Nature Festival website and can be made by clicking here
The Cairngorms Nature Festival
The festival is taking place over 10 days in May, and was formerly the BIG Weekend. It is an annual celebration of the outstanding wildlife and landscapes that can be found in the Cairngorms National Park.
With more than 80 activities across the national park there will be something for everyone – from families and those who are new to wildlife watching, to the more seasoned nature lover.
