BACKSTAGE WITH… Conductor Ben Parry
You’re returning to join the Dunedin Consort for a concert at Dunkeld Cathedral. What has your involvement been since founding the group in 1996?
The last time I actively worked with them was in 2004, having been heavily involved as co-founder and artistic director. I then came down to London, having handed the reins over to John Butt, a very old family friend who I’d worked with a great deal. His specialty is Baroque music, so it was a perfect fit. I’ve come back a few times – I love any excuse to return to Scotland.
The key focus of the concert is Victoria’s Missa O Magnum
Mysterium. How did you choose the accompanying music?
It’s a rather lovely mix of Spanish and Scottish Renaissance music. We’re then bringing it right up to date with cutting-edge contemporary music by Scottish composers, including James Macmillan, Judith Weir, Sally Beamish and my good self. Scotland is rich with fantastic contemporary choral music. The pieces are all loosely based around advent themes.
How will you incorporate these works alongside the mass?
We’re splitting the mass up in the first half and interweaving it with the Spanish polyphony, and exploring the more contemporary works in the second half. This way, we’re able to explore the individual sections of the mass individually. I did this with the Byrd Five-part Mass in an early concert with the Dunedin Consort, and the audiences really enjoyed the collision of different soundworlds.