The finances of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra have never stretched to funding its own chorus. That should not prevent it from performing the great masterpieces of the choral repertoire from time to time. Likewise, there is no reason why the superb Edinburgh Festival Chorus should be restricted to performances at Festival time. They have always toured abroad, and can periodically collaborate with a body such as the BBC SSO during the orchestra's main season.
On this occasion the performance was directed by Edinburgh-born Donald Runnicles, the orchestra's chief conductor since 2009. He brought with him from his Berlin opera house the excellent young German baritone, while the wonderful Aberdeen soprano needed no further introduction. The entire enterprise was marked by a hugely attractive sense of the lyricism of the work.
As with many BBC enterprises, the Usher Hall performance was broadcast. The quality of this performance is self-evident, with a superb clarity to the fugal sections which so often become muddy. The recording was quickly issued as one of the complimentary CDs from the BBC Music Magazine.
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