Upcoming Events

It’s all too easy to take Handel’s Messiah for granted. This extraordinary and enduring work has become a staple of the Christmas season, with its glorious arias and choruses ringing out in concert halls around the world. But with Dunedin Consort, it never loses its magic. Performed by our lithe ensemble of just 12 singers and 15 instrumentalists, Handel’s music remains as crisp, powerful and uplifting as it was at is first performance. Christmas just wouldn’t be complete without it.

Nicholas Mulroy director & tenor Pippa Murphy composer ‘I encounter millions of bodies in my life; of these millions, I may desire some hundreds; but of these hundreds, I love only once…’ — Roland Barthes   In love, as in music, we find ourselves in a multitude of hazy, transcendental states, neither here nor there. ‘We are enchanted, bewitched: we are in the realm of sleep, without sleeping; we are within the voluptuous infantilism of sleepiness: this is the moment for telling stories.’ So says Roland Barthes in…

Over the years, our celebrated interpretation of Bach’s Matthew Passion has earned us five-star reviews, coveted awards and taken us around the world. It has become one of the cornerstones of our season. But in 2020, for the first time in our history, the concert halls fell silent and our annual performances were cancelled. It was a strange and sombre Easter without Bach’s music for comfort.   This year, we return to Edinburgh and Perth with one of Bach’s most heart-rending works, a piece that feels more powerful now than ever. With that silent Easter behind us, we look forward to rejoicing once more in Bach’s glorious music, and its message…

Pre-concert conversation with Jo Buckley and Will Conway at 7pm. Exquisitely restrained yet indescribably intense, Arvo Pärt’s Passio is a modern masterpiece. This hour-long setting of St John’s Gospel draws upon some of the earliest settings of the passion story to reframe and distil its message for modern listeners. Interpolating passages for solo voices and choral ensembles, we are never far away from familiar passion territory and yet, with Pärt’s characteristic vocal candour and pared-down orchestration, it is a work that somehow remains timeless. In a Dunedin Consort first, we are delighted to be joining forces with Hebrides Ensemble in presenting this meditative and inescapably moving work to audiences across Scotland.