Fantasia Orchestra: A British Isles Fantasia

Folk song, classical music and timeless storytelling meet in a vivid journey through the landscapes, languages and musical traditions of the British Isles.

Fantasia Orchestra, Cellist Guy Johnston and Actor Dame Sheila Hancock collaborate in a programme that travels across centuries and borders, bringing together music shaped by memory, place and the passing of time.

The music of the British Isles has always crossed boundaries: between folk and classical traditions, between the concert hall and the pub, and between generations. James MacMillan’s Kiss on Wood, Huw Watkins’ Three Welsh Songs and Donnacha Dennehy’s Thread bring contemporary voices into conversation with older musical traditions, while selections from James Oswald’s A Curious Collection of Scots Tunes reveal the enduring vitality of folk music.

From Who Knows Where the Time Goes to While My Guitar Gently Weeps, from Highland jigs to Scarborough Fair, this is a concert rich in melody, character and connection, a celebration of the music that continues to shape the soundscape of these islands.

©Frances Marshall