Not knowing what to expect from The Wrigley Sisters was the best way to experience their show. They have an incredible accent, are twin sisters, Orkney Islanders and Orcadian speakers who tell stories and play music. One of the sisters switched between piano and Django Reinhardt-inspired guitar, while her twin sister accompanied her with rhythmic fiddle playing. For the slower songs, there was arpeggiated guitar-playing and some amazing sustained sounds on the violin. The diversity in tempo and style was excellent.
The Reinhardt connection was interesting: the pair told a story about how Orcadians tuned into shortwave radio just after the first guitar arrived in the Orkneys to hear radio from over the Atlantic. These pieces of information like this made their songs more interesting, but on occasion the storytelling did go on too long and the information provided didn’t always add much insight.
The slow songs were exceptional in the surroundings, with the tall ceilings of the church, the steep seating arrangement and darkness, but the elegant atmosphere could have had a more transcendent effect if the set was not continually broken up by long, rambling conversations. The acoustic suited the best song of the evening, ‘Orca’, for which we were told to imagine swimming in the cold waters of Orca bay alongside orcas. The violinist illustrated the scene superbly, imitating the sound of a whale underwater remarkably well.
The set made use of original material such as this as well as material by some of their influences. The Wrigley sisters are very talented musicians and created a wonderful evening of music in St Brides. They also gave evidence of an interesting and overlooked part of the diversity of culture in the UK. I think I’ll be brushing up on some Orcadian before booking a holiday there next summer.
