Christine Weir of Not the Midnight Mass fame will be performing with her band, Christine and the Kilts, at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown next month.
Weir recently released her first book, Shut your Trap and Sing, an instruction manual on singing techniques, and has also released a CD of Celtic music. Orielle Berry caught up with her.
You have a connection with Celtic songs. Were you born in Scotland?
Yes, in Paisley, a town famous for its cotton mills and the Paisley print. My parents moved to South Africa when I was a five, so I grew up as a South African but never lost my fascination with Scotland.
My connection with Celtic songs is something that has evolved from the fact that I've always found Scottish history interesting; I love the element of legend in it and the ancient pagan rituals that were practised by the Celts. My interest in these subjects gave rise to the songs I’ve written. For example, I wrote Warrior's Cry after reading about rituals performed by Scottish warriors before a battle.
But it was only two years ago, after I did a course in Celtic music, that I fell head over heels in love with Celtic songs. I have performed in many diverse genres in my life. I was a founder member of Not the Midnight Mass (South Africa's a cappella comedy group) and was the lead singer at Sun City for three years, but when I did the Celtic music course, it was a revelation to me because I realised the music I wrote and the music I have always wanted to sing was Celtic. It’s my musical home - I love the soaring melodies, I love the use of the fiddle, the penny whistle, the accordion, the pipes.
Where did you train to have such a clear and mellifluous voice and could you tell us a bit about the other members of the group?
I have worked hard as a singer. It's a skill I've spent a lot of time and energy on. I spent nine years training my voice with Sarie Lamprecht and I pay tribute to her teaching methods in Shut your Trap and Sing! I also teach singing, so my voice should sound good!
The other members in The Kilts are my son, Matthew Weir - he plays bass and provides the beautiful harmonies; Jonathan Tait, who plays such beautiful acoustic; Rayelle Goodman, an accomplished violinist, well known in the Cape Town music scene; and Leon Oosthuizen on accordion and keyboards, who is joining us in Grahamstown. Normally, we work with Ingrid Salzmann, who’s currently overseas.
What else can audiences expect? Will it all be traditional Celtic - and what is your inspiration?
Most of the songs in our show are either traditional Scottish or traditional Irish. Traditional music inspires me. It’s a thing of beauty that has survived the centuries. I love the fact that through traditional music we can connect with a world where people lived so differently from how we live now. Most of them had no education, no TV, no phones and no entertainment, so everything in daily life went into the songs they sang. We are privileged to have those songs now. Through the song we can bring their voices into the present.
However, in Christine and The Kilts, we also have a couple of modern Celtic-inspired songs, such as Mull of Kintyre and 500 miles, and one of my own compositions.
How long has your group been going?
We started out in 2014 as a theatrical show called Whars yer troosers!? at the Rosebank Theatre in Cape Town. Over the past few years, we’ve evolved into Christine Weir and The Kilts and we’ve become more musically driven than theatrically driven. We're more of a band than a theatre show. However, because my training was in theatre, I’m always mindful of presentation and theatricality, so for the Grahamstown Festival, I’ve bought kilts and tartans for all the band members and my good friend Godfrey Johnson will be coming to rehearsals to give us notes and a bit of advice before we open.
Is this your first time at the fest?
I’ve been to the Grahamstown festival many times before, but I have to admit that this is the first time in 17 years! Yup, my last visit was in the year 2000 with Not the Midnight Mass. A lot has changed in the 17 years, mainly it’s all gone digital, so you have to learn to advertise with hashtags rather than run around putting up posters.
We will be performing at Thomas Pringle Hall in Grahamstown, which is at the Monument. We are only on for five performances, from July 1 to July 5. And all are welcome to wear their tartans and kilts!
Book through 046 603 1186 / 1163 or [email protected], or go to www.nationalartsfestival.co.za