Alistair MacDonald presents 'kurdy-murdy', a piece for electronics and percussion based on Scots words, closing soundfestival 2026 at Cowdray Hall.
Alistair MacDonald and percussionist Darren Gallacher play at Cowdray Hall on Saturday 31 October, with MacDonald presenting a new work for percussion and live electronics. The piece is called kurdy-murdy, a Scots word for a state of confusion or uproar, and it takes the treasury of the Scots language as its foundation. Old Scots words and MacDonald's own field recordings serve as both musical material and as cues guiding the performer, so the sounds of the words and the sensations their meanings convey shape the rhythms, textures and electronic transformations of the percussion.
It's a commission from sound, and it comes with support from the Hope Scott Trust, in association with Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums. The performance closes soundfestival 2026, Northeast Scotland's 'generous, all-inclusive' celebration of new music, which this edition has shaped around the theme of attentive listening. If you've been following the festival throughout the month, this is the one that brings it to a close.
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The set runs from 4.00pm to 5.00pm, so it's an afternoon thing rather than a late one. Tickets are £14, £10, £6, pay what you can, or free, so there's a good range of ways to get in regardless of what you're spending.
