The Scottish Tango Ensemble

Tango must be the one musical form that is so varied, and so globally universal, that a whole evening can be devoted to it with no trace of ‘sameness’. Emotionally, it encompasses a vast range, from seductiveness to anger, nostalgia to sheer fun. It has wonderful old tunes and astonishing new ones. Astor Piazzolla’s famous Tango Nuevo is a world of its own, lamenting the cruel days of the junta when people vanished with no explanation and became numbered among those ‘que no son’ – who are no longer.

Gemma O‘Keefe, violin, Paul Chamberlain, accordion, Gregor Blamey, piano and Tom Berry, double bass, moved from mood to mood and from one sound texture to another, keeping their audience spell-bound. On this occasion, the Music Society had set out the hall cafe-style, with people grouped round tables and bringing their own bottles, and this seemed a very popular arrangement. There was space for dancing, but nobody did, because they were listening so intently. It was, people agreed, a wonderful evening.