Performances

From Scots Tunes to Handel’s Messiah: The Musical Lives of Charles Macklean

Glasgow Barons Early Music Festival

Govan Old Parish Church, 24 July 2026, 7.30pm

In April 1742, Handel’s Messiah received its first performance in Dublin. Among the performers engaged for Handel’s celebrated Irish season was the Scottish violinist and organist Charles Macklean, a figure whose remarkable story has only recently come to light. Through sonatas, Scots tunes and vocal music, The Curious Collection traces Macklean’s career across Scotland, England and Ireland, revealing a musician equally at home in Italianate sonatas and Scottish fiddle music. Following his journey from Edinburgh and Montrose to London and Dublin, the programme explores the rich and interconnected musical world of the eighteenth century.

Aaron McGregor – violin | Mhairi Lawson – soprano | William Cole – harpsichord | Alison McGillivray – cello

Tickets and more info: https://www.glasgowbarons.com/events/the-curious-collective-glasgow-barons-early-music-festival