are an inventive Scottish based trio of Gavin Marwick (fiddle), Cameron Robson (cittern, jaw harp) and Ruth Morris (nyckelharpa), plundering Europe for strange and interesting tunes. The nyckelharpa is a traditional Swedish instrument, a beautifully toned keyed fiddle in the viola register, rarely seen in the UK. With a collective CV that encompasses some of Scotland’s most fascinating outfits – including Unusual Suspects, Cantrip and Iron Horse – they draw on music and traditions as diverse as Serbia, Macedonia, Poland, Canada, France and Finland to create the quirkily alluring instrumental interplay that makes their Salamander CD one of the albums of the year.
Our third album is out now
It’s called ‘While Rome Burns’..
You can listen to some of the tracks on soundcloud here:
https://soundcloud.com/gavin-marwick/smoke-and-mirrors-mozaik
https://soundcloud.com/gavin-marwick/k-jota-da-gheada
https://soundcloud.com/gavin-marwick/pirsta-onga-bucharesti
Some things the reviewers said about our previous albums (see reviews page for more), hope they like the new one as much!:
“Elemental, mesmeric, extraordinarily beautiful. The second CD from this string trio is an absolute triumph. Salamander is truly fabulous, cathartic and invigorating: very highly recommended and already likely to be in my 2010 top ten.” Alex Monaghan
“A lyrical collaboration.” **** Clive Davis, Sunday Times
“Salamander should cement the position of Bellevue Rendezvous as one of the foremost talents in traditional music, with a sound that stands out as truly distinct and imaginative.” Folkandroots.com, Mike Wilson.
“It’s not only their incredible musicianship but the way the instruments interplay to create atmosphere, the bowing of the cittern, the dark grainy effect of the nyckelharpa, the mysteries of the jaw harp. They also create interesting combinations and contrasts, placing darker tunes together with a livelier jig, formality with wild abandon, switching leads, new tunes, old tunes, dark and light together, it makes a fascinating listening experience.” Jill Turner, Gondwana Sound
“Sheer musicality.” Songlines
UPDATE:
It turns out that the reviewers do indeed like 'While Rome Burns', here's some snippets, full versions to be found on the reviews page:
The Herald ...Robson’s Piping the Fish, despite its slightly wacky origins, is hauntingly ceremonial and in typical Bellevue Rendezvous style, slips with apparent effortlessness into the traditional Source of the Spey, and the Galician pairing of K and Jota da Gheada underlines the fun, as well as doubtless considerable playing time, that goes into creating music of such high calibre... Rob Adams
The Scotsman Bellevue Rendezvous, the eclectically-minded trio of fiddler Gavin Marwick, nyckelharpa player Ruth Morris and Cameron Robson on cittern, continue their musical journeyman’s peregrinations around Europe, gleaning tunes and inspiration from Scandinavia to the Balkans and deploying them here with relish and finesse. Marwick’s sinuous fiddle, the dark, grainy-toned Swedish nyckelharpa and Robson’s ringing strings complement each other perfectly while melding into a tight unit, as exemplified by the shadowy, mid-European sinuosity of Marwick’s Smoke and Mirrors or the up-tempo Balkana of Robson’s Mozaik. In contrast, there’s the languid Scandinavian waltz, Vals etter Sigurd Aalmen and a deservedly prolonged deliberation on the beautiful Norwegian air Hvit Marsj. In the middle of it all, a Scots strathspey and reel sound crisply, surrounded by exotica, perhaps, but knowing exactly where they’re at. Jim Gilchrist
Northern Sky With their wide repertoire of European tunes and a uniquely attractive sound, Scottish trio Bellevue Rendezvous make a welcome return with this impressive third album... Liam Wilkinson
FolkWords ...The tracery of this music is spun through the interplay between fiddle, citern, guitar and nyckelharpa (traditional Swedish toned keyed fiddle) to create something that is distinct, different, and completely absorbing in its reach and compass...
Fatea ...Everything's played with an enviable panache, yet there's never any sense of parading technique and virtuosity for its own sake... David Kidman
Living Tradition ..Bellevue Rendezvous' delicate arrangements have remarkable grace and serenity... Alex Monaghan
fROOTS..the instrumentation, repertoire and gravitas of Bellevue Rendezvous invite inevitable comparisons with the Swedish group Vasen, and fans of the Swedish maestros should certainly give this a listen...
BBC Radio nan Gaidheal Just to let you know that we will be featuring Bellevue Rendezvous 'While Rome Burns' as album of the week on our daily Caithream Ciuil programme starting Monday 5th June. It's an intriguing, interesting and very musical album, a pleasure to listen to. John Murray