IT takes no small degree of lyrical imagination to inject a modicum of life into a medley of East Anglian folk tunes.

But Chris Leslie does it with ease, his instrument singing like a bird in spring. Well, he is Fairport Convention’s legendary fiddle maestro… so if anyone can do it, he can.

Of course, Leslie is sharing the bill with the best in the business, so we are talking crème de la crème here.

This collaboration of strings has been going for 18 years now and works on two levels – individual showcasing sandwiched between massed ensemble epics.

It might be Tom Leary’s achingly evocative glance over the shoulder to green hills of home one moment and suddenly the awesome power of the full band playing The Magnificent Seven the next.

The ever-present danger with something of this nature is that the show is at risk of changing from gig to one huge orgy of musical testosterone. Thankfully, it just avoids this, the six fiddlers seamlessly bringing their own particular skills to bear without being over-bearing.

There are solid, clunky English morris tunes on the one hand, and on the other, some completely wild strathspeys leaping over Hadrian’s Wall courtesy of Brian McNeill.

These are songs in kilts, waving metaphorical claymores… they mean business and you’d better believe it.

The Feast of Fiddles show is actually a pot-luck party where all the guests bring their own regional dish. And one thing’s for sure… all the contributions taste equally as good.

John Phillpott