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Edinburgh Festival Chorus
David Jones Chorus Master
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stéphane Denève Conductor

Dame Gillian Weir Organ
Christine Brewer Soprano

Poulenc Stabat Mater
Poulenc Organ Concerto
Poulenc Excerpts from Dialogues des Carmélites

Inventive French composer Francis Poulenc was famously described as being ‘something of the monk and something of the rascal’. Virtuoso of the organ Gillian Weir describes his Organ Concerto as ‘champagne music’. It is a thunderous and powerful piece which also sparkles, ideal for the wonderfully restored Usher Hall organ. Poulenc wrote Dialogues des Carmélites about the fear, faith, and courage displayed by a group of nuns condemned to death during the French Revolution. A work of great emotional and musical intensity, its lush harmonies are performed by a cast of five soloists and students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

What the critics say:

‘Brewer has a voice like molten gold, pouring forth from the heart; her technique is flawless, her line incredible... sending a chill down the spine in the work’s final moments.’
- ST LOUIS POST DISPATCH