Roderick Williams on performing Fauré's Requiem with the SCO: 'it’s lovely to be back'

“In this dream", he says, “I’m in an opera rehearsal. The conductor is being terribly patient, but it’s clear I haven’t got the first clue how my part goes. Everybody around me knows theirs and I’m struggling with mine. It’s just my subconscious reminding me to get to work and learn my notes.”

In the cool light of day, Williams shows no such signs of insecurity. He’s in tune with the prevalent upbeat Philadelphia vibe - it’s the morning after the Super Bowl and the city has been bouncing to the victory celebrations following the Eagles heroic win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Last night Broad Street, the main drag downtown, was awash with people, ticker tape everywhere, and the euphoria will no doubt continue. I don’t think it’ll affect my final tour concert here, a programme of Brahms and Beethoven. The people who are deeply interested in art song are probably not so interested in the Super Bowl,” he says.

Williams, in any event, is a the prize draw. His silken baritone perfection aside, he radiates through his impeccable performances a generosity of character. In the intimacy of the recital room, he also has a tendency to preface the music with insightful, contextual thoughts. That’s what he’s delivered to his American tour audiences and now, he says, he’s looking forward to a bit of down-time.

He won’t be able to put his feet up for long, however. For in a matter of days (on 27 February in Edinburgh and 28 February in Glasgow) Williams will be starring with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in performances of Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Fauré’s Requiem. “This is comfortable repertoire for me; old friends if you like,” he explains. “Obviously musicians try to push themselves, find new boundaries and that’s great, but sometimes it’s lovely just to relax with something you really know.

“What’s also interesting is that audiences can sense that as well, and relax watching us relax on stage. For the past couple of years I’ve been learning so much new repertoire, so coming back to the familiar territory of Vaughan Williams and Fauré is something I feel completely at home with, like putting on a comfortable old jacket.”

Outside the International Festival, Edinburgh for Williams means the SCO. “I tend to associate Glasgow more with Scottish Opera, given the early experience I had with them in the 1990s. But in my long association with the SCO I’ve done all sorts of projects, wonderful tours and recordings, so again it’s lovely to go back to a place you know, where people know you.” With the SCO’s newish principal guest conductor Andrew Manze on the podium, he’s renewing an old acquaintance, too. “We did a Prom together in 2014, also with the SCO, and had a great time.”

Then there’s the family connection. “I did say to my daughter Josie when she moved up to Edinburgh that I’d come and see her if people paid me. That might sound glib, but the truth is that engagements take me there from time to time so, in effect, other people are paying my paternal expenses… for which I’m very grateful!”

It so happens he’ll be back again shortly after the SCO gig: making his debut with the Dunedin Consort (the Scottish premiere of David Fennessey’s grittily-titled Bog Cantata) on 7 March; then on 7 June with The Chapter House Singers - with whom his daughter sings - in a repeat performance of the Vaughan Williams songs, but this time with the Duruflé Requiem.

The last time we spoke - in the run-up to his appearance at the 2022 Music at Paxton Festival - Williams had just begun to develop a reputation as a composer. “It’s going terrifically,” he says, particularly proud of having been commissioned to write music for King Charles' Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey in 2023. He, along with fellow composers Nigel Hess and Shirley J Thomson, were to provide separate responses to King Charles’ favourite hymn tune - Slane - which would be performed as a single Triptych.

“It was tremendous fun to do”, he recalls. “All three of us were knee-deep in other projects when the call came out of the blue in January and it had to be written and fully orchestrated by April. Nigel quickly came up with an opening Fanfare. It was then over to me to write a slow movement, then to Shirley for the finale. The structure kind of wrote itself, and we had the whole thing wrapped up in a week and a half.”

More recently, Williams had just finished a piece for St Paul’s Cathedral to commemorate Martin Luther King’s visit in the 1970s when Westminster Abbey called requesting a Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. “I’ve literally just put the final bars on that one and sent it off.” Right now he’s embarking on a flute concerto for an old school friend who also celebrates his 60th birthday this year. “He’s playing it at Chipping Campden Festival this summer so I better get down to writing it, hadn’t I?”

These commissions, he says, are getting to be “a little bit like planes stacked up waiting to land at Heathrow - as soon as I’ve finished one and sent it off, here comes the next one. I’m going to take a little break in the second half of this year and just stop and make sure I can keep fresh.”

Meanwhile, the Williams production line churns on in the background. “The lovely Mary Bowerman at Champs Hill Records had been pestering me for ages to do a concert and record some of my songs,” he says. “I thought she was joking, but she kept asking, so along with soprano Rowan Pierce and pianist Christopher Glynn we finally made it happen.”

What’s more, the project grew legs. “The producer asked if I had any more songs, and I told him I had drawers-full. Now it’s a double album, due out within the next year or so. I have to pinch myself, wondering if anyone will actually be interested. At least I know my mother will buy a copy.” Odds on she won’t be the only one.

Roderick Williams appears with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 27 February and the City Halls, Glasgow, 28 February, see www.sco.org.uk. The Scotsman is the official media partner of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s 2024/25 Season.