The 2019 Fringe @ St Mary’s Cathedral

This August, St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Palmerston Place is offering a full and varied programme of music, events and exhibitions to entertain residents and locals alike. 

From concerts to Cathedral tours, photography to Phoebe Traquair – and even a chance to see a Japanese Tea Ceremony performed live – there’s something for everyone this summer.

Lunchtime recitals are offered at 1.10pm every day (except Sundays and Wednesday 14 August) – these are free and unticketed, so why not go along?  Enjoy 40 minutes’ respite from the crowds while listening to a diverse range of music; the full programme is available on the Cathedral’s website (www.cathedral.net), with leaflets available in the building and at various venues throughout the city. 

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If you like your music early, why not try a Cathedral Coffee Concert?  At 10.30am on Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 August 2019, pianist John Bryden will play a selection of pieces by Liszt, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Bach. On Wednesday 7 August 2019, John will be joined by Assistant Master of the Music Joseph Beech to play works by Hummel and Schubert.  Coffee and shortbread will be served after each concert. Admission is free and all are welcome.

The Cathedral’s magnificent ‘Father’ Willis organ will soon be going away for major repairs – before that, you can enjoy three Sunday recitals, by Master of the Music Duncan Ferguson (4 August), Joseph Beech (11 August) and City of Edinburgh Organist John Kitchen (18 August). Recitals begin at 4.45pm and all are welcome. More organ recitals feature in the Lunchtime Recitals programme, with Will Briant (7 August), James Gough (15 August) and Lars Schwartz (23 August). 

Six evening concerts (each beginning at 8.30pm) showcase some hugely talented performers, including, on Friday 16 August, the Cathedral’s own acclaimed choir in a celebration of 20th-century choral classics. The choir will also be in residence to sing choral services 4-18 August, with Choral Evensong on Wednesday 14 August broadcast live by the BBC (please note that this service is at the earlier time of 3.30pm; those wishing to attend must be seated by 3.15pm, when the doors will close.)

On Monday 5 August Portuguese pianist Joana Gama – a great hit at last year’s festival – will perform Frederic Mompou’s Musica Callada, whilst on Wednesday 7 August Edinburgh’s Langonet String Quartet offers a programme of contrasting works by Haydn, Beethoven and Dvorak.  

Thursday 8 August sees the Catheral’s Lay Clerks return for some Cathedral A Cappella, a not-to-be-missed concert of close harmony, classical numbers and pop songs arranged for lower voices. 

Looking for something a bit different? On Monday 19 August Sound Collective Scotland, a vibrant professional ensemble of leading young performers drawn from all of Scotland’s major orchestras, will entertain you with a concert of jazz-influenced classics. Exploring a wide variety of music in a repertoire that includes Poulenc, Debussy, Shostakovich and David Bennett Thomas, Sound Collective Scotland has eight core members, often augmented in collaborations across all art fields. Based in Glasgow, the group is also heavily engaged in music education across the country. 

Classical guitar takes centre stage on Thursday 22 August, when Michael Christian Durrant plays works by Isaac Albeniz, Joaquin Rodrigo and Astor Piazzolla. Acknowledged as “A forerunner in the new generation of classical guitarists” (BBC Radio 3) and a graduate of the Royal College of Music, Michael’s programme promises an evening rich in drama, imagery and passion.

Tickets for all evening concerts are available from the Fringe Festival Box Office (www.tickets.edfringe.com) or on the door, subject to availability (please note: tickets are not available from the Cathedral office.)

Tuesday 6 August is Hiroshima Day, marking the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of this Japanese city. The bombing, and that of Nagasaki, effectively ended World War II by bringing about the surrender of Japan, but at a terrible price – the two cities were destroyed. Hiroshima Day is now a focus for anti-war and anti-nuclear discussions and demonstrations.

Tea Master and Edinburgh resident Mio Shudo has performed the Urasenke Tea Ceremony over 200 times in Scotland, and on this Hiroshima Day she will bring her expertise to the Cathedral. The Way of Tea is a traditional living art form originating in 16th-century Japan; its principles are harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. The ceremony will begin at 3pm and all are welcome (no tickets needed.)

The Cathedral’s Song School is home to the famous Phoebe Traquair Murals; normally these are available to view by appointment only, but during August volunteers offer a free tour every day (excluding Sundays and Wednesday 14 August).

Painted over a four-year period 1888-1892, the murals illustrate a hymn of praise by all creation (Benedicite Omnia Opera). Meet your guide inside the Cathedral’s main entrance (Palmerston Place) at 11.30am. 

Guided tours of the Cathedral itself are also available at 2.15pm every Tuesday and Friday in August (except 6 August). Learn about Sir George Gilbert Scott’s neo-Gothic masterpiece, consecrated on 30 October 1879, and Eduard Paolozzi’s stunning stained glass window, dedicated in 2002. Tours are free; meet inside the Cathedral’s main entrance.

The Cathedral is developing a year-round programme of art exhibitions, and for the 2019 festival it hosts two outstanding installations:  

Separation and Connection is an exhibition of photography and glass by Liz French and Dave Sands. Photographer and Glasgow School of Art alumnus Sands presents a collection of light signatures from North West Scotland and the Cathedral’s Paolozzi Millennium Window, while award-winning glass artist French exhibits a continuation of a body of work related to living alongside someone with cancer. (Daily until 31 August [closed from 12.15pm on 14 August].)

Vanishing Point: Where Species Meet is a performance-based video installation by artist team Snæbjörnsdóttir/Wilson, who have a multidisciplinary, international practice. Their projects use art as a tool of disruption and mediation, to prompt new ecological perspectives in the face of growing environmental crisis.

This three-screen film installation, originally commissioned for the 2011 Gothenburg Biennial and later shown at the 2014 Moscow Art Biennale, follows a ritualistic sharing of food – a ‘breaking of bread’ between species, at a bespoke table. The triptych is suspended centrally over and in front of the Cathedral’s High Altar. (Daily until 25 August [closed from 12.15pm on 14 August] as part of Edinburgh Art Festival 2019.)

On Saturday 10 August at 4pm in the Cathedral, all of the artists involved in this year’s Fringe exhibitions will take part in a panel discussion about their work, and the inspirations behind their practice.

The Cathedral welcomes all – those who wish to come to its services, its concerts, its exhibitions and events, but also those who just wish to sit awhile in this place of stillness in the heart of Scotland’s capital.

St Mary’s Cathedral, 23 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AW (tel: 0131 225 6293, email: office@cathedral.net) is just a few minutes’ walk from the west end of Princes Street; trams and many buses stop close by, and Haymarket railway station is also easily accessed.