Classical review: Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Published on Sunday 29 November 2009 22:44

QUEEN'S HALL, EDINBURGH ***

THIS Homecoming offering of contemporary music from Scotland was heavy going even for the most ardent enthusiast, with the overall mood of the programme tending towards the depressive or cataclysmic.

Edward Harper's untimely death earlier this year left his third symphony, planned for this concert, unfinished, so instead his 2006 Symphony No 2, which he later completed by adding an overture, was given its world premiere.

This new opening with its beautifully wrought orchestral textures teased out the themes in the remaining four movements of the symphony. At its heart is Them! Not Us!, set to a powerful poem by Ron Butlin which explores the tragic deaths of children, particularly those caught up in war. The honeyed tones of baritone Alexander Robin Baker, stepping in for an indisposed Leigh Melrose, made the words all the more chilling.

A more serene Epilogue, with the well-drilled SCO Chorus providing a shimmering aura around Baker's words, brought this fascinating but uneven symphony to a close.

Conductor Garry Walker shed new light on James MacMillan's Tryst, in this striking interpretation of a work that is more global meltdown than lover's tryst.