Scottish Ensemble

Book online: http://bit.ly/2IN3svw
Call 01463 234 234
In person at Eden Court, Bishop’s Road, Inverness IV3 5SA

James MacMillan’s setting of the dying words of Jesus Christ is astonishing. Through moments of aching intensity, heart-rending beauty and raw, keening desolation, we are guided through an experience that somehow manages to feel both intensely personal, and magnificently universal. Vivid and alive with the composer’s distinctive style, strings combine with voices to create a truly chilling, brutal, beautiful, transcendent piece of music that boldly reaches out to its listener, whatever their beliefs.

Commissioned in 1994 by the BBC, SE gave the premiere performance of the work on live television across the seven consecutive nights of Easter Week. More than two decades later, in its 50th anniversary year, we will revisit the piece in collaboration with another leading Scottish group, Dunedin Consort.

The engrossing intensity and sheer emotional weight of MacMillan’s landmark work is one of its most precious qualities; across 45 minutes, the listener is offered not so much a depiction of a religious scene, but the sense of a transformative experience that lingers long after the final note sounds. To capture and honour its power, this hour-long concert centres around this singular work, offering it the space it requires and deserves.

Dunedin Consort is one of the world’s leading Baroque ensembles, recognised for its vivid and insightful performances and recordings which aim to make early music relevant to the present day. Under the direction of John Butt, the ensemble has won two coveted Gramophone Awards – for the 2007 recording of Handel’s Messiah and the 2014 recording of Mozart’s Requiem.

Programme
Carlo Gesualdo
O crux benedicta

Erkki-Sven Tüür
L’ombra della croce

James MacMillan
Seven Last Words From The Cross