Ballad of Jamie Allan

Ballad of Jamie Allan is a folk opera by the composer John Harle, with a libretto by Tom Pickard who has written a book of the same name. The opera premiered at The Sage Gateshead in 2005

they said no jail could hold me
at the age of twenty-five
but now I am past seventy
and chained up to my lies…

Ballad of Jamie Allan recounts the true adventures of an eighteenth-century gypsy musician who lived on the English–Scottish Borders and died in Durham jail, serving a life sentence for stealing a horse. Though once patronized by dukes and earls, Allan lost their support as his wayward behavior began to exceed their own.

Drawing on newspaper accounts and court depositions, Pickard's book brings the ballad tradition of stark reportage to life with his own genius for the form. Through the words of his cohorts and contemporaries, Allan emerges as a spirit of the Borders, that wild and historically lawless region where rivers and fells set the stage for his captures and escapes.

'the most thrilling poetry of book I’ve read in quite a while'. Ange Mlinko Poetry Foundation

BOJA was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry 2008. Read NBCC review by Oscar Villalon.

About the composer

John Harle's name is synonymous with new and innovative musical ideas and projects across many genres. He is known equally for his work as pioneer saxophonist in the concert hall and for his bold compositions; vividly intermingling the materials of jazz, rock, classical music, electronics and opera.

He is also a conductor, musical director and producer in a variety of fields, covering artists as diverse as Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Moondog, Ute Lemper and Lesley Garrett.

Link to Johnharle.com

About the author

As a poet, Pickard is known for his poetic range, from erotic to political, from lyrically delicate to poignantly sad to bluntly expletive-driven. He was described as a "voice of finesse and powerful emotion" by Jeff Nuttall. In the preface to "Fuckwind," former Beatle Paul McCartney wrote, "This collection of poems and songs soars over the fells, screeching truth, sex, humor, anger and love."

As well as poetry Pickard has complied books of oral history and has directed and produced a number of documentary films.

Northern Sinfonia: Sage Gateshead

The colourful life of the border gypsy Jamie Allan was resurrected in a world premiere at the Sage Gateshead - on what could have been the very spot where he he stole the horse that led to his imprisonment and death in a Durhan gaol in 1810. Just as the Northumberian piper had packed so much into his long life, so Newcastle-born saxophonist and composer John Harle managed to fit about every musical style and theatrical device into the folk opera. Northern Sinfonia performed the Ballad of Jamie Allan, with the catchy libretto by Tom PIckard. Kathryn Tickell composed some magical passages on her Northumbrian Pipes.

Jamie, who became a legendary rogue and talented musician patronised by the aristocracy, was portrayed with penertrating insight by the charismatic baritone Omar Ebrahim. He was perfectly counterbalanced by his consort Annie Bennet, played by jazz/rock/R&B singing star Sarah Jane Morris. Her command of the lower end of the register with her deep earthy voice was a treat, while both her and Ebrahim's tones were perfectly married on the duets. The score straddled several musical genres, with the ever-shifting tapestry threatening to overwhelm the senses at the times. The opera, supplemented by video and photographic footage from Tom Pickard, was challenging but rewarding. Jamie died a miserable death in Durham - his spirits would have been lifted by the spectacle.
Gavin Engelbrecht. Northern Echo

Ballad of Jamie Allan

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Northern Sinfonia: Sage Gateshead