Brìghde Chaimbeul with Scottish Ensemble – Bristol Beacon

Celtic music trailblazer Brìghde Chaimbeul joins Scottish Ensemble for ambitious new collaboration and tour.

The new musical performance weaves strings and Scottish smallpipes with Celtic mythology and stunning visuals by Jonny Ashworth.

The ancient resonance of the Scottish smallpipes meet the rich textures of a string orchestra in this groundbreaking new commission, which received its World Premiere at the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival on 23 August.

Mythology and storytelling take centre stage in this ambitious cross-genre creation. The familiar sounds of a string orchestra are pulled in unfamiliar directions into a sound world shaped by drones, just intonation, and the earthly tonal spectrum of the pipes. The folklore and history of Skye comes to the fore; from traditional Gaelic waulking songs and the eerie tale of the Spòg Liath (“The grey paw”) to the phases of the moon and the landscape of Scotland’s islands.

The performance will blend live and electrically manipulated sound with specially commissioned visuals from Brìghde’s long-time collaborator Jonny Ashworth, whose bewitching films draw on the landscapes and lore of Scotland’s highlands and islands. Audiences will encounter something both deeply rooted in Scottish heritage and boldly contemporary.

Featured Image: Tom Lovatt