A musical interpretation of the life, loves and losses of Leonard Cohen

Australian musical director, performer and composer Stewart D’Arrietta (keyboard), along with bass player David Demus Donnelly, gives an overview of the life and work of the late great musician Leonard Cohen.

Former lawyer D’Arietta, who also performs the songs of Tom Waits in another show, sings Cohen's repertoire with the sumptuous and gravelly overtones of a serial smoker, as Cohen himself was for much of his life.

We are told about the Jewish Canadian's home on the Greek island Hydra, which inspierd his song 'Bird on a Wire', as well as his eternal love for Marianne Ihlen, the muse behind 'So Long, Marianne' and to whom he wrote a tender and touching letter in the last weeks of her life.

Other classics include 'Suzanne' and 'Famous Blue Raincoat', while 'A Thousand Kisses Deep' is read as a poem, allowing the audience to soak up each word. We also discover that the much covered 'Dance Me to the End Of Love', once thought of as a love story, is in fact about the Holocaust, where musicians were forced to play classical music in extermination camps.

Whilst seeking enlightenment at a Buddhist retreat in Los Angeles, Cohen's manager was “seeking his dough” leaving him penniless. Following a lawsuit, Cohen hit the road again in his later years to recoup the losses, with new material including 'I’m Your Man'.

Finishing with the timeless and heart-rending 'Hallelujah', D’Arrietta and Donnelly do right by the songs, which are performed with a flair and emotion that Cohen fans will rejoice in singing along to.

By Mark Bloom

Header photo courtesy of Assembly Festival

My Leonard Cohen: Up Close and Personal runs until Saturday 27 August. 6.10pm. £16, £15 concs. Assembly Rooms Ballroom, Edinburgh, EH2 2LR. edfringe.com