“Some of the Dowland arrangements remind you of the string sound of the 16th century, this thinner, more eerie sound. The thing about Dowland is that it’s such a great landscape that you enter.

“It’s deeply melancholic, it’s dreamy, it’s bluesy in a completely new way.”

On soprano sax is her long-time collaborator Andy Sheppard, who also plays tenor saxophone on Deep River – an arrangement of seven Gospel and blues songs that started life as their joint album in 2006.

This is the first time MacGregor has directed a version with orchestra.

An unusual feature of the Deep River album was the use of electronica-style effects and sound loops.

“I’m going to play down that electronic aspect a bit, because I’ve got a new component that is this huge orchestra,” she says.

“It’ll bring a real rich resonance to the whole thing.

“But we’ll still retain some of those loops and, in particular, the loop of the Smiths (husband and wife duo William and Versey) singing in the 1920s, which is so evocative.

“It’s a rather scratchy, gritty piece of recording.”

MacGregor’s two sides – as a performer and a director of music – will be brought to the fore at Thursday’s concert, she adds.

“You’ll see how much I love playing when I perform the Bach concertos,” she explains.

“But, of course, there is that part of me that wants to create things and write music and direct and bring musicians together.”

MIXING it Up is at the Philharmonic Hall on Thurs, February 11.