The popular Ensemble Marsyas returns with a diverse programme of concerti, wind music and Scottish songs by composers Francesco Barsanti and George Frideric Handel, centred around the music composed for The Edinburgh Musical Society.

Horn soloists Alec Frank-Gemmill and Joseph Walters take centre stage in Handel’s Concerto for French horns, exemplifying the extraordinary vogue for horn music at this time. Timpanist Alan Emslie joins them for Barsanti’s Concerti grossi Op. 3, an unusual concertino comprising timpani and natural horns.

Barsanti’s four ‘Old Scots Tunes’, notable as one of the first examples of Scottish Traditional music to be faithfully transcribed, introduces fiddle player Colin Scobie. Completing the programme is Handel’s aria ‘Sta nell’Ircana’ from Alcina, featuring mezzo-soprano Emilie Renard, and the March for Wind Band, HWV 346.

The recording, which will be launched at the 2017 Edinburgh International Festival, is a fine addition to the group’s discography.