The Seventh Season

Review by David Middleton

Playing throughout the Fringe in the basement of the famous folk music venue, The Royal Oak pub, is the acoustic trio Peaks and Valleys, performing Seventh Season, inspired by a recent teaching assignment in South Korea, when a student asked her what the English term is for the Korean phrase that translates as, “Winter is jealous of the flowers”. She informed the student that there was no equivalent in English; but the seed, as it were, was planted and the anecdote was brought back to her friends who complete the trio, which in turn inspired a musical project that set out to explore the overlapping tensions and fluxes that characterise the changing of the seasons. The result is the music, (only very recently completed), that is played in its entirety at this session.

Interspersed by, a brief poetic reading, before they launch into the music, this was interesting, poetic and beautiful music that crossed genres, starting in a folk idiom before breaking expected structures and introducing almost jazz-like extended developments and unexpected juxtapositions. The playing, vocals and harmonies displayed were exemplary.

It seems unlikely that this work will be recorded, so attending a performance during the Fringe may be the only way to experience it. This is superior music-making and if you have a love of acoustic melody, poetry and song, then you could do no better than grab a ticket to see and hear this in what is such a suitably intimate setting.