The word Rudsambee is apparently an Anglicised version of a Gaelic word meaning `anything at all'.
The enjoyment and enthusiasm shown by the members of Rudsambee was received with appreciation by the audience gathered in Whiting Bay Hall last Saturday.
The hall looked great, with subdued lights, candles on the tables and cheery layout. The programme encompassed an amazing variety of song, and the group, a company of amateur singers, on this occasion 7 men and 10 women, sang in 12 different languages.
Moreover, most of the songs were performed from memory. It was a unique programme to say the least, and the content would have been useful to schools with projects in Europe.
There were 23 items in all, and each was introduced by members of the company, a delightful personal touch. There was a large element of what could be described as ethnic/folk music with the odd madrigal or spiritual thrown in.
Very refreshing, however, were the compositions and arrangements of songs by the performers themselves.
The singers were at their best in the slower songs which had a haunting melody, and their quiet singing and balance in these was excellent. Good examples were one of the Hungarian songs, Lullaby for Lucy and The Water of Tyne to name but three.
The arrangements of Peter Hill and the all too brief "I knew", written by one of the company and sung by a female quintet was memorable.
The presentation was interesting and the re-staging of groups, with different combinations of voices, use of soloists or one gender voices, and use of percussion instruments all helped to sustain the audience interest.
The performance was a cappella throughout, with the note being given by the director from a tuning fork; not an easy task. There was some good bet canto singing in the Italian swan song, and you could almost see the lederhosen in the German dancing song.
The highlight of the evening though had to be the encore of the Island Spinning Song.
It might be a good idea to alter the order of the programme a bit; namely to group together the songs of Norway, Finland, Scotland, or songs dealing with common or contrasting sentiment, so that the audience could get a flavour of that music.
Rudsambee certainly know what enjoyment singing can give, although some of their vowel sounds were a little strange.
All the essentials were there though, and a most unusual concert gave the audience a great deal of pleasure. Hopefully more people will turn up for the next visit.
Moira Starks