Concerts at the Kirk: Bach and Grieg

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Edinburgh Festival review
Rating (out of 5)
4
Show info
Company
The Duddingston Players
Production
The Duddingston Players
Performers
Violins: Robert Dick, Sheena Robertson, Kate Miguda, Juliet Garden. Cello: Melcolm Garden, Tamasin Gray. Viola: Kenneth Taylor, Tricia Ball. Piano: Tricia Ball. Double Bass: Margaret Graham
Running time
60mins

Duddingston Kirk, nestling at the foot of Arthur's Seat, is one of the oldest churches in Scotland and is a perfect, intimate environment for a chamber recital. In this programme the Duddingston Players chose three pieces to perform: J S Bach's Keyboard Concerto No 1 in D minor; two Edward Grieg Elegian Melodies and J S Bach's Double Violin concerto. With the proximity of the players to the audience one got an understanding as to how performances must have been in Bach's lifetime. Indeed the intimacy of the environment was absorbing as we were only a few feet away from the musicians, hearing every note they were playing.

A delightful programme - the Bach piano concerto, a relatively simple piece, was adroitly performed by Tricia Ball. In the Grieg songs, the ensemble created beautiful, soulful tones, with the pianissimo endings being barely audible. Sheena Robertson and Robert Dick, the soloists in Bach's Double Violin concerto, sensitively brought out the exquisite passages in the middle movement and in the finale, a fabulous full sound was created with only eight players.