DOUBLE DELIGHT

Those passing Eden Court and Inverness Cathedral this evening may be forgiven for doing a double take if they see a dozen musicians, led by a conductor, walking between the venues followed by a large crowd.

It’s not something you see every day; the musicians are with the Scottish Ensemble.

No ordinary group, they like to push boundaries and make people look at classical music differently.

Tonight, the Ensemble presents Baroque: Take Two – two concerts which explore the music of the ensemble’s roots through a contemporary lens.

“The idea came from our guest conductor, Jonathan Cohen, an excellent musician, cellist and harpsichordist,” said Rosie Davies, marketing and design manager with the Ensemble.

“Many pieces written in the baroque era were composed with a view to being performed in a chamber-like venue, church or religious institute.

“Jonathan’s idea is to put the concerts back into the sort of space where the music would originally have been heard.”

The first concert takes place in the One Touch Theatre, then, when it ends, the musicians, carrying their instruments, will walk with the audience from the theatre to Inverness Cathedral. There they will present the second half of the concert.

Rosie said: “Some people may prefer to make the cathedral concert their first half of the show, as following it, the musicians will then pick up their instruments and walk back to the theatre where they will play, once more, the same music they played there earlier.”

While it might sound complicated, it’s rather simple as it’s really one concert, taking place in two different places.

Fans can opt for the theatre/ cathedral show or cathedral/theatre show – in total the musicians will play three times in succession.

“In the cathedral, the Ensemble will play music originally designed to be played in churches and cathedrals, while in the theatre they’ll play music designed to be performed in chamber venues, royal courts and palaces.

“The One Touch will be laid out differently as we don’t want the audience to just come in and sit in rows facing the musicians.

“We want to do something a little bit different, as physical surroundings can have an affect on the way we experience music.”

Guest Jonathan is passionate about the music and has selected pieces from the Baroque era that are rich, exuberant and virtuosic.

“Major composers from that era, Vivaldi, Locatelli, Corelli and Biber, all feature and have that lovely, impressive feel so people that don’t know anything about the Baroque era will still enjoy it,”said Rosie.

● The first concert starts at Eden Court at 7pm and the second at Inverness Cathedral at 8.15pm tonight. Contact 01463 234234. IDEA: Guest conductor of the Scottish Ensemble Jonathan Cohen

Scottish Ensemble will wow fans with a different concert style