On Thursday I was privileged to be invited to attend an event observing one of the longest lasting associations between two countries, a relationship marked by mutual respect and support over many centuries.
To mark the 730 years of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France, the Consul General of France and Director of L’Institut français d’Écosse organised a Choral Concert at St Giles’ Cathedral followed by a reception at the institute.
The proceedings were initiated by the reading of a new poem written for the occasion by Scotland’s Makar, Pàdraig MacAoidh. Following this, pieces by Louis Vierne, Gabriel Fauré, and Sir James MacMillan among others were sung and played to perfection by the St Giles’ Cathedral Choir with the accompaniment of organist Jordan English under the direction of Jack Oades. The acoustics of the church allowed the crystal clear voices and power of the organ to inspire true delight.
At the Institute, short speeches by The Rt Hon Lord Provost of Edinburgh Robert Aldridge, the Consul General of France Stéphane Pailler, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Gillian Martin, and the Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s from France Hélène Duchêne were delivered with the joy of praising such lasting and productive connections. With both humour and gravity, these words looked both back and to the future.
A little levity was engendered by a sing-song of a well-known French song, Joe Dassin’s Les Champs-Elysées followed by a rendition, including bagpipes, of The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond. Of course, all was supplemented by glasses of wine and a selection of fine French charcuterie and cheese.
A truly charming way to applaud the closeness of the two countries.
This concert followed a talk given earlier in the evening by Clarisse Godard Desmarest, Professor of British Cultural Studies at the University of Picardie Jules Verne, in Amiens, and a separate talk about the material legacy of the Auld Alliance by Dr Bryony Coombs is Renaissance Teaching Fellow at The University of Edinburgh.
On Saturday Scottish author Lisa Ballantyne and French author Elise Hugueny-Léger will be at the Institut français d’Écosse to talk about their novels and connections to France, and to sign copies of their books.
More details here.
And throughout the day on Saturday the Franco-Scottish Fair will offer an opportunity to sample some French fare – food, drink and arts and crafts – in Edinburgh. More details here.
