Concerto Caledonia, specialise in the early and classical music of Scotland. With numerous CDs behind them the group have been awarded Sunday Times Record of the Year for their album Mungrel and regularly perform on BBC3. As part of our lunch time series they will explore elusive British music, dating from 1550 to 1650, featuring music by Tobias Hume, Orlando Gibbons and John Jenkins.
My initial reaction to this music was that there was a lot of movement between high and low notes, it is not so much jumpy as slightly detached. There are so many historical references, for example, the work of Hume contains some interesting titles, 'Tobacco, sing sweetly for tobacco'. The tracks which I listened to composed by Orlando Gibbons sounded as though they were played by some sort of sitar. This instrument, whatever it may be, had a very distinct, medieval sort sound to it with an almost metallic tone. It sounded similar to something which you might hear in a Royal Court. The works of John Jenkins seem slightly more modern and have more in common with pieces which I have previously heard. What I noticed was that many of the pieces had 'Fantasia' in their titles. I have discovered that this refers to improvisation during the renaissance period and that a characterisation of this style was change in tempo and clashes of harmony.
In addition to these composers, works from anonymous musicians will also be performed. This is quite a charming touch in the sense that music ,which might otherwise have been lost to history, is being revived in fabulous venues to be played by talented musicians to an appreciative audience. Concerto Caledonia really do perform in context using instruments not found in modern music. I imagine that the venue will serve to heighten the atmosphere and transport the audience back to another era.
Concerto Caledonia will perform at the University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel on the 4th of June. To purchase tickets click here or visit the Cottier Theatre Box Office.
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