Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh - 7/11/26
Edinburgh Royal Choral Union and Edinburgh Pro Musica Ensemble, conducted by Michael Bawtree. Euan McDonald (tenor), Eilidh Bisset (soprano), David Goodenough (organ).
Stepping into the cavernous Greyfriars Kirk on a brisk November evening is always an atmospheric experience, but when filled with the rich, vibrant acoustic waves of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (ERCU), the historic venue felt not only packed with people but resonant with feeling.
Under the baton of conductor Michael Bawtree, the choir’s latest autumn programme was thoughtful and balanced, pairing the dramatic narrative and sparkling textures of Benjamin Britten with the buoyant grace of Joseph Haydn.
The anchor of the evening was undoubtedly Britten’s charming Saint Nicolas, which occupied the second half of the programme for the best part of an hour, and which connects performers and audience through two moments of shared hymnody, with particular poignancy at the end. In the midst we have “All People That on Earth Do Dwell”, while the conclusion declares that “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”.
From the opening notes, the performance captured the theatricality and emotional depth of the score. Tenor Euan McDonald delivered well in the title role, navigating its vocal demands with agility and conviction. It is a work he knows well. His narrative arc – tracing Nicolas from a pious child to a miraculous bishop and legendary protector – felt vivid and immediate, particularly when, at one point, he stepped into the pulpit.
Local soprano Eilidh Bisset, meanwhile, sang from besides the organ loft, her voice carrying down the kirk. Supported by the Edinburgh Pro Musica Ensemble and experienced organist David Goodenough, the instrumental textures complemented the choir's size and power.
Earlier in the programme, shorter works like Britten’s A Hymn of St Columba and Herbert Howells’ exquisite A Hymn for St Cecilia a setting of a poem by Ursula Vaughan Williams) showcased the ensemble's capacity for delicate, soaring phrasing. Howells’ complex harmonic shifts were handled securely overall, allowing the music's bittersweet nostalgia to wash over the nave.
Providing a striking stylistic contrast, Haydn’s Little Organ Mass (Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo) shifted the mood from twentieth-century flair to eighteenth-century elegance. Here, the choir need to adjust their palette to achieve a lighter, cleaner classical sound: difficult in this slightly overwhelming space. Meanwhile, the promising Bisset handled her solo passages cleanly, matching the obbligato organ lines that give the work its endearing moniker.
The interplay between the soloists, chamber ensemble and the choral body was well coordinated by the experienced Michael Bawtree, reminding the audience of Haydn’s ability to merge sacred reverence with a human warmth. The idea of sliding Britten’s Hymn to St Peter between the Credo and the Sanctus of the Mass proved interesting and effective.
If there was any critique to be made, it lay in the acoustic swallowing of lower- and mid-register dynamics within the cavernous corners of the Kirk – a common challenge in historic Edinburgh spaces, and perhaps especially in this one. Even seven rows from the front the effect could be slightly muddy, and that must have been doubly so at the back.
Ultimately, this concert was a tribute to the determination of ERCU, proving once again why they remain an important and historic part of Edinburgh’s choral landscape. It was also an evening that honoured centuries of sacred tradition.
