Bach and Blood (Whitekirk)

Part of the Lammermuir Festival

A perfect programme for the glowing acoustic of this atmospheric church. Female voices from the National Youth Choir’s superb Chamber Choir join the Scottish Ensemble for a work by Glasgow based Irish composer David Fennessy. Blood for solo violin, strings and voices is based on a vocal melody by the 12th-century composer Hildegard of Bingen. The title, the composer says, suggests something visceral, tangible and flowing. It is complemented by the ethereal, mystical power of Arvo Pärt’s Greater Antiphons for strings. Bach’s great Chaconne is set in context by the ‘Ghost Chorales’ relating to death and resurrection supposedly hidden within the virtuosic violin lines.