Moniaive concert presents beautiful songs from many times and cultures for the start of the Spring Fling weekend
Lovers of inspirational and unusual international music are invited to join the Cairn Chorus on a journey of Separation and Connection.
Audiences will enjoy songs from many times and cultures, and in a variety of languages including English, Gaelic and Bulgarian.
The Separation and Connection concert takes place at Moniaive Institute on Saturday, 28 May, to coincide with the start of Dumfries and Galloway’s Spring Fling open studios weekend.
Anna Tagg, a spokesperson for the choir, said: “The forces which bring people together and pull them apart have inspired wonderful songs in every culture and language across the centuries.
“We hope the concert will be a journey of discovery for the audience as they will probably not have heard many of the songs before – and it will give them the chance to glimpse far off times and places.
“Everyone in the choir has a real passion for song and for sharing their love of music, so we also hope the concert will be a lot of fun.”
Among the songs will be Dilmano, which Bulgarian villagers would traditionally gather and sing below a couple’s bedroom window on their wedding night – it’s a song which starts slow then builds to a crescendo. There will also be the Unst Boat Song, and Song of the Exile which reflects how people in exile can lose their voice.
Moniaive is expecting a substantial number of visitors between 28-30 May as several artists and makers taking part in Spring Fling are based in, or near, the village. Some of the artists are also choir members. The Craigdarroch Arms Hotel is also the site of one of the region’s three Spring Fling Rural Murals – big, bold and colourful paintings created by teams of national and international artists as highlights of the weekend.
Up to 30 singers will take part in the concert, accompanied by local musicians.
The choir itself is well known for its high standards and is led by Kate Howard, an international professional performer with a love of song in every form from folk ballads to opera.
The Separation and Connection concert has developed out of another project and underlines the quality of their work. This year Cairn Chorus was invited to join eight of female vocalists 4 from Scotland and 4 from England, from the Songs of Separation project, and accompany them in the opening concert of the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival on 21 May.
Anna said: “It’s a real privilege to accompany Songs of Separation, and to have been invited to put together our own response to their work.
“The more we thought about songs with a sense of separation, the more we also thought about the things that connect us, which is how our concert evolved.
“This has all come together in the full two-hour concert people can join us for in Moniaive.”
- The Cairn Chorus is based in Moniaive in Dumfries and Galloway.
- Separation and Connection will take place at the Moniaive Institute at 7.30pm on Saturday, 28 May.
- Tickets are £8.
- For further information and tickets call 01556 650480 or email [email protected]
- Book tickets from the Midsteeple box office on 01387 253383 or www.dgboxoffice.co.uk.
