ACO Presents: Scotland Unbound - Perth Winthrop Hall

“The best ever Bach guitar recording … There seems to be no limit to Shibe’s characterful melodic instincts.” - Gramophone

Sean Shibe plays guitar without limits. He is a chameleon of the new generation: he’s met with acclaim in the great recital halls of the world (and his recent Bach album was described by Gramophone Magazine as “the best-ever Bach recording on guitar”), but he also forges new horizons by ranging fearlessly beyond classical music. You can’t help but get carried away with his magic.

For his Australian debut, Shibe celebrates his Scottish heritage in a thrilling ride through the Highlands and beyond.

With Shibe on classical guitar and Tognetti directing the strings of the ACO, the concert opens with a Scotland steeped in lore. Lady Margaret Wemyss died in 1648 at the untimely age of 18, but her legacy lives on in the haunting solo music she collected in her family’s Fife castle. These tunes are interspersed with the irresistible rhythms of Scottish folk songs, while a new commission from Cassandra Miller, one of the most soul-stirring composers writing today, brings this rich history right up to date.

Program

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH Solo lute manuscripts compiled by Lady Margaret Wemyss

JAMES MACMILLAN (arr. George Duthie) From Galloway

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH Suite of folk songs

CASSANDRA MILLER New Commission for solo guitar and strings (Australian Premiere)*

JULIA WOLFE (arr. electric guitar and strings) Lad (Australian Premiere)

DAVID FENNESSY Hirta Rounds (Australian Premiere)

MARTYN BENNETT (arr. electric guitar and strings) Bothy Culture: Selections