I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've attended a concert that celebrates a bridge. Hidden away down what is now a quiet country lane, when it opened in 1820 the Union Chain Bridge was the first industrial bridge across the Tweed, and the longest iron suspension bridge in the world.

Its bicentennial festivities, postponed from last year, culminated in this programme put on by the musicians of Concerto Caledonia at this year's Music at Paxton festival. Using 1820 as the focal point, their programme was a musical celebration of cross-border co-operation, and not just within the UK: we heard music by Italians imitating Scots, and by Scots learning from Italians.

The Italian baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli was the most respected name of the day, so one of his early Trio Sonatas merited an appearance. However, things got more interesting with William McGibbon's sonata "In Imitation of Corelli" which sat alongside an 18th century piece by Francesco Geminiani that used Scots tunes. The cross-fertilisation of ideas isn't a new phenomenon.

The salty tang of the fortepiano and baroque strings sounded super in Paxton House's Georgian picture gallery, a setting which gave the concert the feeling of site-specific theatre. I can't say I loved all of the music: several of the Scots compositions sounded unavoidably derivative. However, it was a fascinating dive into an underexplored corner of musical history, and demonstrated that the Paxton festival can combine international artists with a local grounding.

  Simon Thompson, The Times 27 July 2021