The Beloved

Robert Burns’ 1791 poem “Ae Fond Kiss” is considered by many to be among the greatest love songs ever penned and is performed by singers worldwide, usually with a poignant traditional Scots melody that mirrors the emotional landscape of the text. This much-loved tune is the exquisite thread woven through the 21st-century musical fabric of Alan A. Craig’s The Beloved. The Scottish composer has infused his evocative work with echoes of an unmistakably Celtic hue and invites the string ensemble to use their instruments as lyrical voices joined in a vivid expression of tenderness and tragedy.