Dialogues, Su-a-Lee at Mackintosh Church, Celtic Connections 2025

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Dialogues, Su-a-Lee at Mackintosh Church, Celtic Connections 2025

What a glorious setting for Su-a-Lee’s rich, glowing tones and the depth of character of the musician’s cello! The concert explored Lee’s compelling musicianship and celebrated her collaborative work. This included her playing with Duncan Chisholm, one of Scotland’s most revered fiddlers, celebrated multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer Donald Shaw and her husband and composer Hamish Napier.

Su-a-Lee and Donald Shaw

Alongdide the cream of Celtic musicians, Lee’s work ranges from classical, experimental to folk traditions.

Su-aLee and Hamish Napier

The Concert

Glasgow Scotland. 21 January 2025. Su a Lee, Korean cellist, gave a concert for her Dialogues album at the Macintosh church, as part of Celtic Connections 2025. Along with Duncan Chisholm, Hamish Napier, Donald Shaw. Photo Pauline Keightley/ Alamy.

Su-a-Lee

Su-a-Lee, Mackintosh Church.

Lee explored her years playing the rhythmic drive of Scottish traditional music within the landscapes of classical music. She performed tracks from her album Dialogues 2023, Including mostly original compositions. She was accompanied by pianists Hamish Napier and Donald Shaw and violinist Duncan Chisholm. (Shaw is also Celtic Connections festival director since 2006).

Tonight rather than the fiddle or voice centre stage, it was the deep tones and dynamic range of the cello. Lee began with a moving cello solo of Burns ‘Ae fond Kiss’, followed by the emotive drama of Donald Shaw’s Baroque suite, with three dance forms and a slow air – ‘Baroque March Mull’, ‘Cathedral of Trees’, ‘Malpica’ ‘Ocean Poem’. As well as performing Shaw’s renowned music ‘Islands on the Edge’.

“Shaw’s tunes are all bangers” she exclaimed! Her welcome and informed chat between sets added a personal note. With violin and cello, we were treated to Chisholm’s poignant slow airs ‘Prince Charlie’s Last View’ and ‘Precious Place’. Also Phil Cunningham’s ‘The Wedding Celebration’. Hamish Napier’s joyful strathspeys and reels on piano, flute and cello, with ‘John Stephens of Chance In’ and ‘Windsong’.  All four musicians performed a moving Gaelic song ‘Mo Rùn Geal Òg’, (sung by Julie Fowlis on the album). They finished this lovely concert with the energy of upbeat tunes such as ‘The Wound and the Gift’.

Su a Lee celebrates her many collaborations. This wasn’t a concert about Lee’s classical music roots (via the New York’s Julliard school) but about her journey through Scottish musical traditions and it’s innovative new directions. The cello is the original Scottish folk rhythm section, long before guitar or piano and is now enjoying a revival through artists like Su-a Lee. The leading fiddle players of their day, Neil Gow and Peter Milne, had cellists that toured with them. Lee is a lead cellist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Su-a-Lee Dialogues

The Album: Su-a-Lee’s album Dialogues (2023) is about her personal interpretations and musical connections with her accomplished fellow musicians. While Lee has played on many albums over her thirty year career, this is her first solo album of 15 compositions. Dialogues explores Scottish traditional music from reels and strathspeys, slow ballads and Gaelic song ending with the solo setting of her Burns Ae Fond Kiss.

“As much as this album is about finding my own voice and a voice for Scottish folk cello, it is also about the interaction of two voices…..Welcome to our dialogue.” Su-a Lee

Review & Photos Pauline Keightley –