The Scottish Chamber Choir is based in Edinburgh and rehearses on Monday evenings in the Dean in Edinburgh’s West End.
Although the choir has been based in Edinburgh for more than 50 years, it has performed throughout Scotland to great critical acclaim, and the recent premiere of its commission “The Lost Lichts” – a commission from Ailie Robertson, setting the words of three female poets from north-east Scotland took place, appropriately, in St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen.
With around 30 dedicated singers, the choir has the size and scope to tackle a range of works and to nurture individual and choral skills.
The Scottish Chamber Choir approaches a wide-ranging repertoire with fresh ideas and an enthusiasm for making new musical connections. The SCC takes pride in singing a broad spectrum of music – ancient to contemporary, sacred and secular, accompanied and a cappella.
Our next concert
Nordic and Baltic choral music speaks clearly and deeply to the twenty-first century soul. Its mystery and clarity, its enfolding of the traditional and the innovative carry the listener from the roots to the stars.
Our concert is a delicious smörgåsbord of choral pieces from past and present composers of those northern lands, where the extremes of nature seem to fuel an understanding of the myriad possibilities of the human voice. Join us for a thrilling exploration of this vast and surprising musical landscape.
Icelandic composers Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, start from ancient texts and transport them to a primal yet uniquely contemporary soundworld.
Estonian Urmas Sisask combines old-world polyphony with unexpected rhythmic splashes.
Danish composer Per Nørgård and Norwegian Knut Nystedt deconstruct traditional harmonies but somehow increase musical and emotional effects with their magical shifting sounds.
Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds weaves folktale with the records of Arctic explorers to thrilling effect while Jaakko Mäntyjärvi creates a piece of vocal theatre with his humorous look at the stereotype of Lapland folk music.
Add beautiful pieces by the godfathers of Nordic and Baltic music, Jean Sibelius and Arvo Pärt, and we have a concert brimming with the elemental energy and compelling unpredictability of the north.
We are also proud to include in this concert the Edinburgh première of The Lost Lichts, by Ailie Robertson.
‘The Lost Lichts‘ sets three poems by North East poets:
‘Hallowe’en‘ by Violet Jacob (1863 – 1946),
‘A Recruit for the Gordons‘ by Mary Symon (1863 – 1938)
and ‘Cotton Grasses‘ by Marion Angus (1865 – 1946).
Ailie is a multi-award winning composer and performer based on the West Coast of Scotland. She has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions including the BBC Proms, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, Bang on a Can, Cappella Nova, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the Riot Ensemble. She was Composer-in-Residence with Sound Festival and Glyndebourne Opera and she has won multiple prizes at the Scottish Awards for New Music and her work has been supported by the PRS Foundation, The Vaughan Williams Foundation, Creative Scotland and Sound and Music. Her work has been performed world-wide and broadcast on international radio.
We are grateful to Creative Scotland and The Hope Scott Trust for supporting our project.
Recent feedback from our concerts …..
“Your guest soloists were excellent and really fitted the bill perfectly for the parts you asked them to sing. The Bernstein Ps 23 was glorious – that 14 year old voice was made for the solo. She’ll have an excellent voice in years to come, but she’ll never perform that solo as an adult as well as she did last night.”
“We both really enjoyed the concert last night – what a high standard! I have sung the Bernstein and I know how many challenges it presents. The other pieces certainly didn’t seem any easier. We really enjoyed the Argentinian Mass, which I noticed had many audience members silently foot-tapping. It was a terrific performance all round, and we are now looking forward to your concert of Renaissance music.”
“Wonderful. Great voices”
“Beautiful. Loved the mix of music and poetry.”
“Lovely well-balanced power, light and shade. Gibbons & Arcadelt my favourites.”
“A transcending repertoire skillfully presented for our delight. Glad I came!”
The choir first worked with Scottish conductor Iain McLarty in November 2015 and is delighted to be continuing to work with him for season 2024/25.