Music

Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll launch Beneath The Black Tree album in Torrington (review)

07th May 2009

The eagerly anticipated launch of Torrington-based Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll’s new album Beneath the Black Tree was a treat for all who attended.

Playing to a packed house at, appropriately enough, their musical base camp, The Plough Arts Centre, Torrington, this fine pair of fiddlers gave spirited renditions of all the tracks and more besides.

A Dartmoor jig kicked off the evening before the first track from the CD, The Robber – a traditional song from the Cecil Sharp Collection – told the hapless story of a man who stole to keep his wife.

For their own vibrant composition The Antimacassar they were joined by BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner Jackie Oates on viola.

She was invited to sing her own three-song set. This included the pastoral idyll The Lark in the Morning, which has earned national acclaim for her haunting interpretation.

The second half saw three more musicians join the ranks – including the CD’s producer, Keith Angel, whose percussive prowess ranged from drum kit to chair and floor!

Double bass (James Budden) and French horn (Ellen Driscoll) added further depth and texture to the dual fiddles – and the rest of the 10-track CD was brought vividly to life.

The quirky Barnstaple to Umberleigh, written by Becki while travelling on the Tarka Line, was a pacy piece evoking the rhythm of the railway.

Nick swapped fiddle for glockenspiel and a change of pace with the evocative The King of Poland.

In an evening fired with fine playing and infectious enthusiasm Wyke and Driscoll’s set showcased a winning stage presence and a cracking album of traditional and original material.

ROGER MALONE

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