The tag line for this year’s Edinburgh International Festival is ‘Rituals that Unite Us’. So, this opening concert at Usher Hall (there is another on Sunday evening) was a wonderful example of crossing cultural barriers and a reminder that diversity is no barrier to understanding.
Sung in Spanish, Latin, and Aramaic, ‘La Pasión Según San Marcos composed by Argentinian Osvaldo Golijov and conducted with extraordinary verve by Lisbon native Joana Carneiro, members of the Orquestra La Pasión and The Royal Scottish National Orchestra with voices from the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela, the National Youth Choir of Scotland, and a long list of soloists, this was more than simply a concert.
Besides the fascinating and changing music, there were bits of dance and theatre as well as occasional co-ordinated movements of the chorus, this was a visual and uniting experience as we contemplated the story of the passion and crucifixion of Christ.
The individuals demonstrated virtuoso talent as well as the collective power of the whole. Truly a magnificent piece performed flawlessly which description cannot accurately convey.
A fine start to the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival.
