Scottish Ensemble is bringing its astonishing production of Goldberg Variations – ternary patterns for insomnia to audiences around the country and beyond this March. This playful reworking of J.S Bach’s masterpiece, a collaboration between the Glasgow-based string orchestra and Sweden’s Andersson Dance, has stunned audiences around the world – from Shanghai Concert Hall to the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Now, the show finally returns to Scotland after a wildly successful UK tour in 2015 that critics called, “a revelation” and “a thrilling reinvention of the entire piece”.
Published in 1741 as an aria and set of 30 variations for harpsichord, Bach’s Goldberg Variations remains one of the most well-known and most celebrated pieces ever written – praised in 1802 by Bach’s first biographer Nicolas Forkel as “the model according to which all variations should be made”, and widely considered to sum up the entire history of the Baroque variation, in the way that Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations does for the Classical era. It is an epic exploration of human emotion captured in a single repeated chord sequence.
This is a bold, 21st century interpretation of J.S Bach’s masterpiece; featuring choreography by Örjan Andersson and musical direction by Jonathan Morton. This cross-artform performance blends 11 musicians and 5 dancers together to create, “a dynamic mesmerising intertwining of bodies”. Musicians and dancers perform as one company. Bodies lean on one another with trusting tenderness. A dancer flickers with the vibrating energy of the strings. Each variation is brought to life with visual, sonic and physical playfulness.
First produced in 2015, Goldberg Variations: ternary patterns for insomnia has become a central piece of work for Scottish Ensemble, exemplifying their approach to modernising and re-contextualising classical music:
I think we all feel that this endeavour has been such a vital part of the recent developments that have shaped Scottish Ensemble into what it is today, and therefore it feels natural to bring it back to our home audiences in Scotland.
Jonathan Morton – Artistic Director, Scottish Ensemble
In taking the well-known model of dance-with-live-music-accompaniment one step further by choreographing musicians along with the dancers, the audience has the singular experience of musician and dancer performing as one, transforming the notes and our perception of them. The show also brings a fresh visual dimension to this revered piece of music, allowing audiences to enjoy its humour, humanity and beauty in an entirely new way. Scottish Ensemble is delighted after seven years of touring, to be bringing one of its most successful and popular productions back home for audiences to re-discover.
UK Dates:
Glasgow (Tramway) – Friday 3rd March – Saturday 4th March @ 7.30pm
Inverness (Eden Court) – Monday 6th March @ 7.30pm
Dundee (Caird Hall) – Tuesday 7th March @ 7.30pm
Leeds (Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre) – Thursday 9th March @12pm