MUSIC | Classical MUSIC | Classical C L A S S I C A L

CHORAL PROJECT LUDUS BAROQUE BACH CANTATA PROJECT St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, Edinburgh, Sun 18 Feb, Sun 18 March & Sun 15 April

According to the Big Choral Census published by charity Voices Now last summer, there are more than 40,000 choirs in the UK, equating to over 2.14 million people singing in them. It’s around the same number of people in the UK who swim each week and 300,000 more than those playing amateur football on a regular basis. That’s a lot of singers.

For those who are keen to join the big singing party,

Edinburgh based Ludus Baroque has recently launched a new project, taking four of Bach’s gloriously vibrant cantatas as its starting point. Specialist period instrumentalists and a top notch quartet of soloists will lead the way, but the joy of singing Bach chorales will be opened up to those who simply want to take part and sing. ‘Each of the four cantatas will be performed on the specific day Bach composed it for,’ says artistic director Richard Neville-Towle, ‘and we are inviting you, the choral singers and enthusiasts of Edinburgh and further afield to take part in this project.’ Organised so that each cantata is rehearsed and performed

informally across the course of a Sunday afternoon and early evening one a month over January, February, March, April there are different levels of participation. For those who would like to be part of the action but might not quite have the confidence to hold a vocal line, there is the option of singing only in the final chorale. Why do so many people sing? According to Voices Now, and a whole range of other growing evidence, singing in choirs is hugely beneficial in terms of physical and mental health and bringing together communities. For Ludus Baroque’s project there is all that plus a rare opportunity to get under the skin of this most magical music. (Carol Main) For more information, contact amanda@ludusbaroque.co.uk

CLASSICAL HIGHLIGHTS

HITLIST GLASGOW

Scottish Opera: Greek

WINTERPLAY Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 10 & Sun 11 Feb, thequeenshall.net Mini-festival of classical chamber music curated by renowned pianist Susan Tomes. She's joined by Austrian violinist Erich Höbarth and cellist Philip Higham plus other guest artists, performing mainstays of the repertoire alongside a number of educational events.

SCOTTISH OPERA: GREEK Theatre Royal, Fri 2 & Sat 3 Feb, atgtickets.com/venues/ theatre-royal-glasgow After its highly successful outing at the 2017 Edinburgh International Festival, Scottish Opera is back with its production of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s score re-telling the story of the Greek myth Oedipus. It's a provocative piece that brings a 21st-century perspective to the tragic ancient tale. See feature, page 72.

SCOTTISH ENSEMBLE:

SCOTTISH OPERA: FLIGHT PROPHECY

Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Sat 17, Wed 21, Sat 24 Feb, atgtickets.com/venues/ theatre-royal-glasgow Jonathan Dove’s opera, Flight, is inspired by the story of a refugee who was stranded for years in a Paris airport. Stuck in the airport due to an electrical storm, a group of strangers start to reveal their lives to each other, with unanticipated consequences. Also Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 1, Sat 3 March.

Wellington Church, Wed 21 Feb, glasgowconcerthalls.com More music inspired by ancient Greece (see Greek above), this time with mezzo-soprano Christine Rice and the instrumentalists of the Scottish Ensemble who tell of the tragic destinies of Dido, Cassandra and Ariadne through heaven-sent arias and heart-breaking laments. Also Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Tue 20 Feb, thequeenshall.net

SCO: RAUTAVAARA

PERCUSSION CONCERTO City Halls, Fri 2 March,

82 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2018 82 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2018

glasgowconcerthalls.com Scottish premiere of Finnish composer Rautavaara’s Incantations, his percussion concerto specially written for Edinburgh-born international percussion superstar, Colin Currie. Melodic and dance-like at times, vibraphone and marimba are very much to the fore in all three movements. Also Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 1 March, thequeenshall.net EDINBURGH

DUNEDIN CONSORT: COFFEE & ENLIGHTENMENT

Methodist Church, Nicolson Square, Sun 4 Feb, thequeenshall. net Perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon listening to glorious Bach from the joyous Dunedin Consort followed by a discussion

to get the brain cells moving. The Consort’s director, John Butt, and Tom Jones of the University of St Andrews explore the place of the Enlightenment in 21st- century culture. All helped along by coffee.

RUSSIAN STATE

PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sun 4 Mar, usherhall.co.uk YouTube star of classical music, pianist Valentina Lisitsa, posted her first video ten years ago and now has a colossal 138 million video views on her channel. Hear her live in Rachmaninov’s popular third piano concerto, made known to mass audiences through its starring role in the Oscar-winning film, Shine.

FLANDERS RECORDER QUARTET

St Cecilia’s Hall, Sat 17 Mar, thequeenshall.net With an array of recorders of differing sizes, the virtuoso Flanders quartet bring alive a whole new world of sound from an instrument that has had a bit of a bad press in its day. One of the most important instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, it is now heard in the resplendent splendour it deserves.