When you spend your life looking at gemstones under a microscope, it’s easy to forget that they can also inspire people who don’t own a loupe. The Gemstone Arias is a reminder that gems don’t just sparkle — sometimes they sing.
Premiering this month (January 13, 2026) at Edinburgh’s Institut français d’Écosse, The Gemstone Arias is a newly commissioned work by composer Jay Capperauld, with text by poet Niall Campbell, performed by soprano Rosie Lavery and pianist Anna Michels. Commissioned by Live Music Now Scotland, the work unfolds in five movements, each inspired by a different gemstone.
The idea is simple and imaginative: translate the colours, textures, and symbolic associations of gemstones into sound and language. In other words, take what we normally see — and hear it instead.
Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report
A Gentle Gemological Reality Check
Gemologists may notice a few liberties taken along the way. The program notes describe gemstones as “organic products of the earth,” which will cause more than a few mineralogists to pause mid-sentence and whisper a correction. Yes, there are a few gem materials that are organic (or “biogenic,” according to CIBJO), but for the most part, gemstones are crystalline, inorganic materials — born of pressure, temperature, chemistry, and geological time. But hey — they’re musicians.
Creative projects aren’t judged on Mohs hardness or crystal system accuracy. While the mineralogical science may be a bit… polarized rather than precise, the feeling behind it is easy to understand. Anyone who has held a well-formed kunzite crystal, studied a fine spessartine color, or watched light interact with a chrysoberyl cat’s-eye knows that gemstones can create an emotional response long before they’re ever assigned a species name or a price tag.
From Facets to Feelings
Rather than treating gems as luxury adornments, The Gemstone Arias approaches them as sources of atmosphere and imagination. Each movement explores a stone’s perceived character — its visual mood, its cultural symbolism, its sense of weight or lightness — and lets music and poetry transpose that beauty into another sensory key.
There’s no attempt to prove that gemstones sound like anything in particular. Instead, the work invites listeners to make their own connections — a bit like looking at a new facet arrangement and deciding whether it adds character or distraction. A similar idea has surfaced before: the late Gabi Tolkowsky (1939–2023), master cutter of the 273-carat De Beers Centenary diamond, often spoke about the “song of a diamond,” suggesting that because light itself travels in waves, a diamond might metaphorically send sound back to the observer.
After the Premiere
In a post-event Instagram update, Live Music Now Scotland described the world premiere as a full-house celebration of new music, thanking performers, supporters, and partners — and reminding audiences how powerful it can be to experience a premiere together.
Tap here to view Live Music Now Scotland’s Instagram posts.
Applause Where It’s Due
Presented as part of Live Music Now Scotland’s PAC-T programme (Performer, Audience, Composer – Together), the premiere reflects the organization’s commitment to collaboration and new work. As Jude Anderson, Chief Executive of Live Music Now Scotland, notes in the announcement, the project brings together artists from different disciplines — each contributing a distinct voice.
And that’s really where The Gemstone Arias succeeds. It doesn’t claim to be gemological science. It doesn’t promise metaphysical proof. Instead, it celebrates gemstones as sources of inspiration — polished not by laps or polishing wheels, but by imagination.
A Useful Reminder for the Trade
In the gem world, we spend a lot of time thinking in terms of the four Cs — Color, Clarity, Carat Weight, and Cut. Necessary, yes — but not the whole story. Projects like The Gemstone Arias gently remind us why gemstones captured human attention in the first place: beauty, adornment, and the simple fascination of natural materials shaped by the Earth and transformed by human hands.
No grading reports required. Just sit back, listen, and enjoy the sparkle — translated into music.
Institut Français d’Ecosse
https://www.broadwayworld.com/
