CLASSICAL music sisters Laura and Sarah Ayoub dream have every reason to celebrate Burns Night.
Having been celebrated by superstar music producer Mark Ronson, the Ayoub Sisters have put out a new single - a medley of Celtic songs called Melodies from Scotland - to mark the 258th anniversary of the birth of the national bard.
And it shot straight to No 1 in the UK classical iTunes charts within an hour of its first play on radio.
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The new single from violinist Laura, 21, and cellist Sarah, 24, from East Dunbartonshire, who signed for Decca Records last month, ncorporates seven famous Scots songs including My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose, Mairi’s Wedding and Scotland the Brave.
It was recorded alongside the world-famous Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
After posting a classical version of Mark Ronson's hit Uptown Funk on YouTube, they were invited to Abbey Road studios to collaborate with the producer on a new cover of the song.
The Scots-Egyptian duo have shot to No 2 in the classical iTunes chart last month with their debut single A Christmas Fantasy.
Classic FM, the UK’s most popular classical music station, has been working with Decca to promote the girls’ new single and album to its 5.3 million weekly listeners.
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The radio station describes them as “incredible” and “amazingly talented.”
Last April, the sisters, who moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music – where Laura still studies – performed at the Royal Albert Hall after winning a competition run by radio station Classic FM.
Their 10-minute slot, which was broadcast live, was enough to win them an audition with Decca, who signed them up on the spot.
Laura said: “Our single incorporates seven of our favourite traditional Scottish songs and weaves them together into one piece.
“It is an arrangement which we initially came up with over ten years ago, and has transformed and evolved as we have grown up over the years. To have been able to record it with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the orchestra we grew up watching and listening to, was an incredibly humbling experience.”
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One reviewer on iTunes said after listening to the medley, which was released on Friday: "It could actually settle the national anthem debate ... an outstanding tapestry of beautiful anthems stitched together with sheer talent and class. Well done!"
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