Orpheus Caledonius brought to life in Spitalfields

The first printed collection of Scottish songs was produced in 1725, William Thomson's Orpheus Caledonius. It was an important and influential collection, both Haydn and Beethoven produced arrangements of songs from it. But bringing the songs to life is tricky, particularly if you want to do so within an historically informed 18th century aesthetic. 

The music of the period can be quite fluid, without the rigid boundaries between classical and folk which we think of nowadays. So the early music ensemble, L'Avventura London (artistic director Zak Ozmo) is joining forces with the Scottish folk band Old Blind Dogs and folk-singer Siobhan Murphy to explore the repertoire. They will be performing on Friday 10 June 2016 at the Spitalfields Music Festival.

We are promised a collaboration will mix the sounds of 18th century high art music and folk, featuring musical instruments that range from bowed baroque strings, recorders, lutes, cittern, and baroque guitar, to pipes, whistles, fiddles, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and an array of percussion instruments, plus of course voices.

You can read more in the interview with Zac Ozmo on the Spitalfields Music website.