“In today’s fast-paced world, there is something magical about the combination of horsehair and strings, sound waves bouncing off old stones, and the push and pull between tradition and innovation.”
Jonathan Morton, Artistic Director of the Scottish Ensemble, isn’t selling a Christmas concert. He is describing a material reality. In a season usually defined by the digital glare of online shopping and the synthetic loop of supermarket carols, Morton is offering something deliberately archaic.
“Over the years we have built very enthusiastic and loyal audiences, who clearly enjoy this surprisingly analogue experience!”
That phrase—”surprisingly analogue”—is the hook. The Concerts by Candlelight tour, returning this December, isn’t just a festive tradition; it’s a counter-cultural proposition. It asks audiences to unplug and sit in the drafty grandeur of St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen or the imposing Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, engaging with a medium that refuses to be digitised.
Morton is clear on the mission: “Our concerts offer an opportunity to take some time out from the usual festive hustle and bustle, and contemplate some stunning music in historic buildings around Scotland.”
“In today’s fast-paced world, there is something magical about the combination of horsehair and strings, sound waves bouncing off old stones, and the push and pull between tradition and innovation.”
The Friction of the New
The programming reflects this friction between comfort and challenge. While the candlelight aesthetic might suggest a safety net of Baroque staples to aid the digestion of mince pies, the Ensemble is, as usual, disrupting the narrative.
Yes, J.S. Bach is present—including Morton’s own arrangements of Herr Christ, der ein’ge Gottes-Sohn and Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf. But these are set against the minimalism of Philip Glass’s String Quartet no.3, the contemporary voice of Caroline Shaw’s Punctum, and a significant new commission.
This year features the UK premiere of Moments of Memory VI by Valentin Silvestrov. The context is heavy; Silvestrov, a titan of contemporary classical music known for a “post-avant-garde” style of serenity, is currently living in exile in Germany following the invasion of Ukraine.
“We delight in presenting unfamiliar and newly written music to our audiences, which isn’t something that usually happens in more traditional festive concerts!” Morton notes.
The piece is a heavyweight co-commission involving the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Arctic Philharmonic, and the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, among others. Crucially, it marks the third composition supported by the Calder Commissioning Fund, a financial legacy of the Ensemble’s late founder John Calder. It is a confident assertion that even in the busiest month of the year, the organisation is prioritising the creation of new art over the recycling of the old.
The Nomadic Ethos
This refusal to settle is baked into the Ensemble’s DNA. Established in 1969 by “two freethinkers” as the Scottish Baroque Ensemble, the group has spent half a century “shrinking the gap” between stage and seat. They resist the constraints of a home venue, preferring a nomadic existence that takes them from village halls to concert halls.
For the winter tour, this means a busy schedule of eight performances in ten days, moving from Inverness to Dunblane, Dundee to Dumfries. The venues are not neutral black boxes; they are active participants in the sound. St John’s Kirk in Perth or the Crichton Memorial Church in Dumfries offer acoustics that Morton describes as “sound waves bouncing off old stones.”
By foregoing a permanent home, the Ensemble seeks to force itself to adapt to the “here and now,” designing each performance as a bespoke meeting of site and sound.
AT A GLANCE: Concerts by Candlelight 2025
Dates: 02 – 11 December 2025 Venues: Aberdeen (St Machar’s), Inverness (Cathedral), Dunblane (Cathedral), Dundee (Parish Church), Dumfries (Crichton Memorial), Edinburgh (Greyfriars), Glasgow (Kelvingrove), Perth (St John’s). Key Repertoire: J.S. Bach, Philip Glass, Caroline Shaw, Henry Mancini, Valentin Silvestrov (UK Premiere). Tickets: £13 – £25 (Free for under 16s). Details: scottishensemble.co.uk
The Reality of the Gig
While the audience buys a ticket for the atmosphere, the tour serves a starker function for the musicians on stage. It is a working tour, and for the Young Artists attached to the ensemble, it is a crash course in the realities of the modern industry.
James Hardie, Chief Executive of Scottish Ensemble, is pragmatic. The romantic notion of the soloist arriving just in time to play is dead; the modern musician must be a multi-hyphenate.
“We’re passionate about giving our Young Artists a rich and realistic experience of life as an ensemble musician in the 21st century,” Hardie explains. “We ask a lot of them—joining us for major tours that can last a week or two—but we also think deeply about what the future of classical music in Scotland will look like, and what skills our artists will need to thrive in it.”
Hardie emphasises that virtuosity is merely the baseline. The Young Artists Programme, delivered in partnership with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), is designed to strip away the illusions of the conservatory.
“We’re passionate about giving our Young Artists a rich and realistic experience of life as an ensemble musician in the 21st century,” Hardie explains. “We ask a lot of them…”
“Being a musician today requires much more than brilliant performance alone, so alongside performing our Young Artists spend time in the office learning about the management and planning side of our work, and we give them opportunities to gain experience in community settings though our Music for Wellbeing programme, which is expanding over the coming year.”
A Different Angle
This year, viola player Lauren Jack joins the tour as a 2025 Young Artist. Her perspective offers a glimpse into the internal mechanics of the group—a collaborative engine far removed from the conductor-led hierarchies of larger orchestras.
“The side-by-side project with Scottish Ensemble was a highlight of my year at RCS,” Jack says. “I loved the project—I found that the way all the musicians talked about and embodied the music was so inspiring. They really encouraged us to think about all the dimensions of the music we were playing and approach it from lots of different angles.”
It is this “embodiment” that distinguishes the Ensemble’s work. Without a conductor on the podium, the responsibility for the music is shared across the group. It requires a level of communication that Jack found transformative.
“The week was different from anything I’d done like that before,” she admits. “I love chamber music, but I hadn’t done much playing in a string ensemble of that size before—I absolutely loved it and I’m really excited to be joining the musicians on tour for Concerts by Candlelight.”
Returning to the Warmth
The tour will close in Perth on the 11th of December, leaving behind a trail of Bach, Glass, and Silvestrov in some of the country’s most atmospheric spaces. It is a fleeting series of moments—appropriate for a programme that includes a piece titled Moments of Memory.
Whether it is the “warmth” of Henry Mancini’s Moon River (arranged by James Manson) or the bite of the winter air outside, the objective remains constant. It is about creating an environment where the music speaks without the amplification of modern life interfering.
As Morton concludes: “It’s a delight to once again have the chance to bring our players and our performances to these stunning spaces around Scotland. Year-by-year Concerts by Candlelight is always one of the highlights of our musical calendar, and we’re already looking forward to enveloping our audiences in the warmth of this beautiful music.”
Featured Image: Scottish Ensemble CbC Aberdeen 2024 – pic Adele Keith
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