Carmina Burana 2001Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Read more about the opera Carmina Burana
The RSNO Chorus had, in recent years, started to make annual visits to Aberdeen and Dundee, if only for the enjoyably relaxed Christmas concerts, for which Christopher Bell's enthusiasm and cajoling touch proved ideal. In earlier years, the visits of the Chorus were rare indeed. This time, however, they came during the Proms season, bringing Orff's popular cantata.
An even rarer phenomenon, surely, was the reciprocal visit of Dundee Choral Union to sing in Edinburgh. The combined forces certainly produced a rousing sound. The first half of the programme was also quite light - Dvořák's 'Carnival' Overture and Arch's enjoyable orchestral arrangement of the Saint-Saëns 'Carnival of the Animals'.
There was one unusual feature in the performance, which was generally most enjoyable. This was the inclusion of a counter-tenor instead of the usual high tenor in the Song of the Roasted Swan. While the sound was still eerie, it simply didn't sound so difficult to sing as the usual excruciatingly high tenor part.
