A big Whiting Bay welcome for the SCO

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s wind section played to a packed Whiting Bay Hall earlier this month, and treated the audience to an afternoon of such delight that people are still talking about it. The group of twelve virtuoso players provided such a range of different tones that the absence of any string sound did not matter at all. A splendidly cheerful Baroque Canzona for trumpets and horns began the proceedings, then clarinets and bassoons came on to the scene for the Beethoven Sextet, in which his writing for wind instruments is so delectable that one can only wish he had produced more for these instruments. Two flutes featured in a light and lively take on the well-known arias from The Magic Flute and Charles Gounod’s light-hearted Petite Symphonie included flutes, with a glorious solo for that instrument in the second movement. The entire ensemble came together for a magnificent arrangement of Beethoven’s Symphony No 1.

The players enchanted everyone, not merely for their astounding musical skill, but for the happy and friendly atmosphere that they created. At one point the tall spotlights that the ensemble carry with them for all performances suddenly failed and the stage was plunged into darkness. The players gamely carried on for a few bars then had to give up, and their electrician moved in quickly with a screwdriver and new cables. Within a few minutes, he had the lights working again, to a well-deserved cheer, and the group, quite unfazed, made a fresh start. The hiccup was at once forgotten and everyone was again listening entranced to the clarity and beautiful balance of the music. A short encore followed the rapturous applause at the end, then people went out into the daylight, exclaiming to each other about the wonder of what they had just heard. A group of this size brings a completely new dimension to chamber music, which is often thought of as designed for no more than three or four players, and it has the additional fascination of working with no conductor. To see and hear musicians in such close touch with each other, perfect in their timing and utterly agreed in the expression of the music’s feeling, is close to miraculous. The SCO sectional summer tours have included Arran three times now, and every time, they have come as a special and exhilarating treat. We can only hope to see them again – and again. Their visits are of huge value, and the Arran Music Society is to be congratulated for the work they do in helping to arrange these feasts of music.