THE Lammermuir Festival drew to a close with the final chords of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor ringing around the rich acoustic in St Mary’s Parish Church in Haddington, and the festival celebrating another full house in what has been a fantastic year.

Audiences flocked to the festival to experience its most ambitious programme ever, which saw 34 live performances at 17 venues across East Lothian, with ticket sales surpassing those of the last pre-pandemic festival in 2019.

While the artists’ programmes embraced well-loved musical classics, the festival was thrilled to also welcome a host of new places, faces and music to this year’s programme.

Well-known for its focus on ‘beautiful music in beautiful places’, this year’s festival welcomed five brand new venues to the programme, inviting audiences to explore historic buildings and hidden gems across East Lothian.

The Cistercian monastery of Sancta Maria Abbey at Nunraw hosted vocal-collective Sansara for a programme celebrating the works of William Byrd. And on September 17, The Orlando Consort filled the atmospheric partial ruins of Dunglass Collegiate Church with music known to have been beloved by 15th-century Scottish kings.

Audiences were also treated to an exciting number of debuts and exclusive performances. On the festival’s opening night, Scottish Opera took to the stage for a thrilling semi-staged performance of Massenet’s rarely performed opera Thérèse (1907), in what is believed to be its Scottish premiere. The newly formed National Youth Choir of Scotland Chamber Choir, conducted by Christopher Bell, made its debut live performance at the Loretto School Chapel in Musselburgh. And on September 18, French string quartet Quatuor Agate created a tremendous buzz in not only their Lammermuir Festival debut but their Scottish debut with spectacular performances of Brahms’ String Quartets.

The year also saw the return of beloved festival favourites including the Dunedin Consort, who returned for their 13th consecutive year at the festival. Former 2021 artist in residence – renowned American pianist Jeremy Denk – was welcomed back to the festival for a series of concerts, beginning with a characteristically dazzling recital at Dunbar Parish Church.

Teaming up with local businesses in Haddington, this year’s festival saw the return of the successful Coffee Concerts series. Master Konditormeister Falko Burkert unveiled an exclusive Lammermuir cake for audiences to enjoy, alongside a collection of stunning performances from artists including Malcolm Martineau and Danny Driver.

The Lammermuir Festival was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. All remaining performances were preceded by a minute’s silence.