Latest news with #ScottishEnsemble
The Herald Scotland
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
A pin sharp soprano with elegant strings: Review of Scottish Ensemble
Keith Bruce After a rural start in Perthshire and Strathpeffer, the Scottish Ensemble's 'Concerts for a Summer's Night' is touring visual arts venues of Scotland's cities with a sonically-colourful soiree that spans the centuries. Ditching their concert blacks for mostly white clothing, the instrumentalists have as their guest soloist soprano Heloise Werner, a performer who focuses attention with her animated reading of Barbara Strozzi as much as in her own experimental compositions. Hers is not a huge voice, but its pure tone and pin-sharp accuracy sit well with the elegant playing of Jonathan Morton's string group. Read More 'This play is a sensation' - Review: The Mountaintop, Lyceum Review: Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed, Pitlochry Festival Theatre Much-loved TV detective takes to the stage but does it work? Lithuanian Antanas Rekasius provides the arresting opener, a movement from the composer's tongue-in-cheek Music for Strings setting the exploratory tone of the evening. It finds more familiar form in the music of Stravinsky and Ravel, as well as new experiences like Lisa Illean's clever instrumental settings of Gilles Binchois's Chansons and Tom Coult's response to the Baroque ground bass. The reverberant acoustic of Kelvingrove added an additional challenge to the music-making, and where it worked – as in the chorale of Julie Pinel's Cantatille, as arranged for Werner by Marianne Schofield – it was an ally to the performance. In some other respects, and prosaically in the audibility of Morton's stage announcements, it was less helpful. The soprano's own compositions and recordings, which are released on Scotland's Delphian label, provide the programme's most original content, most obviously the improvisation of the wittily-titled Unspecified Intentions. Her Lullaby for a Sister is echoed by Morton's equally lovely arrangement of Pauline Viardot's Lullaby and Errollyn Wallen's melodious Tree provides the climax of the recital. For the Glasgow concert that was achieved with some last minute re-ordering of the programme, which sacrificed some potentially-interesting juxtapositions to create different ones, and the true purpose of which did not become apparent until the arrival of the unlisted encore. That is of the Danish String Quartet's version of the English folk tune As I Walked Out, which ends with the players doing exactly that, whistling the refrain as they stride off stage through the audience. The final performance of the tour is at V&A Dundee on Monday at 8pm.
Glasgow Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Scottish Ensemble unveils Glasgow shows for 2025/26
Coming together with other venues across Scotland, these performances aim to provide an exhilarating range of musical experiences for the audience. The ensemble is shifting focus this autumn onto composer Anna Meredith, recognised for her boundary-pushing style. (Image: Tiu Makkonen) Among the schedule is Shifting Patterns, running from October 25 to 29 and presenting a unique blend of Meredith's energetic compositions and Henryk Górecki's emotionally rich Quasi una Fantasia. The performance will administer a combined feast of sound and visuals with tailor-made projections by animator Ewan Morris Jones. Read more: New Rangers manager Russell Martin outlines transfer plans ahead of key tie Warning to drivers as Glasgow's M8 roadworks at busy junction delayed Russell Martin outlines Rangers ambitions in Celtic comparison The Concerts by Candlelight tour from December 2 to 11 will present the UK premiere of a new piece by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. The piece, Moments of Memory VI, was co-commissioned by the Scottish Ensemble, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Arctic Philharmonic, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music for NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra. The Young Artists programme also continues, allowing string students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to work closely with the ensemble's musicians. Performances in Glasgow on January 16 and 17 will showcase the output of this partnership. Lauren Jack and Annabel Stevens, stand-out performers in the 2024 residency, will also make their Scottish Ensemble debuts in the autumn/winter series. The ensemble also continues their work in helping people with music, Music for Wellbeing, a series of sessions leaders hope will provide calmness, combat stress, and uplift emotions. This scheme will revisit Maggie's centres this autumn in continuation of a long-running partnership with the charity. The scheme will also be present in schools, focusing on aiding pupils develop mindful listening skills. To find out about Scottish Ensemble's autumn and winter 2025/26 performances head to
