We’ve had to be extra patient for the return of Festival Of Voice to Cardiff this year, and we’ve been well rewarded. On this first night back, Brian Eno took command of the Donald Gordon Theatre in an intimate and illuminating talk. He spoke of the importance of art today; how in the UK we are not guiding people into the path and just focusing on jobs that put pound signs in your eyes. He has a subtle humour which helped the speech along.
The more we listened, the more we realised just how barren our government have made things for artists, made worse by a lockdown which left people angry, questioning their careers. Eno’s trip to a Swedish school would prove how ahead they are of us in so many fields: his wry quote from a Swede, “the cold is our penicillin”, a great one-liner of many. He left us with hope, even with resignation lingering in the air.
We had a cancellation from singer Kelsey Lu, so the evening would have a focus on musicians in the minimalist vein. Colin Currie and his Group have been familiar to Cardiff audiences at St David’s Hall, a fixture of the International Concert Series. They specialise in the music of American composer Steve Reich, indeed I don’t recall ever hearing them play anything else. In Drumming, Reich is deeply motivated by African drumming traditions and you can feel this in every, pulsating second of the hour-long piece. Along with Music For 18 Musicians, this shares the mantle of masterwork for Reich.
Currie picked the percussionists for the group back in 2006 and it remains almost superhuman to see them levitate over the marimbas and glockenspiels, their hands and beaters are a blur in this fusing, flurry of notes. Synergy Vocals added soft layers of chirpy lip-play: not heard for most of the piece, but helping to season the already potent pot. Highly caffeinated music, with no rhythmic respite other than the shift change between players, Currie and his group never fail to impress. All that was missing was their coloured shirts we’ve gotten used to seeing them in.
A false-start would herald German-born composer Max Richter for his premiere in Wales, with Sinfonia Cymru. This temporary blip would soon pass and his Voices would finally be heard. This was a heart-rending exercise on what it means to be human and how it defines us.
Artist and humanitarian Yulia Mahr collaborated with Richter to create this all-around effort, a milestone of his more recent canon: I haven’t been this moved by a composer since John Tavener. The use of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights might appear asinine, though highlights read by Imtiaz Dharker were sobering and a reminder for our own time. We hear this declaration translated into a selection of international languages, floating around the space.
Richter potted about between grand piano, synths and laptops, though came into his own when spending introspective time on the former. Violinist Mari Samuelsen soaked up the dramatic plateau her instrument faces with force and determination; soprano Grace Davidson vocalised in a realm of true comfort and some electronic manipulation. Conductor Robert Ziegler shared the beauty of this piece to us all with sharp command, as Sinfonia Cymru proved their blossoming talents, dubbed a “negative orchestra” in this context. The tutti moments remained noteworthy, and an overwhelming dusting of urgency and lamentation covered the entire piece. Truly a golden moment.
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Thurs 4 Nov
Festival Of Voice continues at the Wales Millennium Centre until Sun 7 Nov.
words JAMES ELLIS photo MAX RICHTER MUSIC
