Ensemble Musikfabrik at hcmf//

Creative Tourist

Book now

Ensemble Musikfabrik

St Paul's Hall, Huddersfield
19 November 2021

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Katharina Dubno
Book now

Following on from a legendary appearance at hcmf// 2018, where they confounded audiences with two concerts of new work from Rebecca Saunders, Cologne’s Ensemble Musikfabrik return to the festival with new roles to play. With their penchant for interpreting conceptual work and committing to the doubled-down demands of composers, they take on The Fabrication of Light, a feat of musical mechanics by Composer in Residence Chaya Czernowin, as well as Prozession, a knotty new piece by Enno Poppe.

With The Fabrication of Light, it’s the process, rather than final form, that Chaya Czernowin is after. Described by the composer as a ‘ceremony of building’, the piece’s spiraling sound structure suggests its own construction. Still a work in progress, it’s in a perpetual state of being created; Ensemble Musikfabrik take it around in cycles, embracing trial and error as they put it together. The Fabrication of Light is a testament to how Czernowin imagines music as something with connected architecture: it can be assembled, and we can go inside of it. She points to the interior life of sound, the tunnels and corridors within.

Guarded as he is with the alchemy behind his music, you won’t glean much from the title of an Enno Poppe piece. The conductor and composer has visited hcmf// with an array of pieces in recent years, all of them distinct, speculative experiments. He performed as part of ensemble mosaik’s frenetic synth orchestra for his radiophonic homage Rundfunk in 2018, and had the gradual, octave-climbing Schweiss performed by Norbotten NEO in 2019. His new piece, Prozession, was written over the pandemic, germinating rapidly over a series of writing sessions. It’s grown from nine distinct sections to a grand total of 81. Interweaving a series of developing melodic duets and solo lines, the piece is an exercise in flow, eventually finding its own current and sweeping all of Poppe’s material up with it.

Part of Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Where to go near Ensemble Musikfabrik at hcmf//

Phipps Hall
Huddersfield
Music venue
Phipps Hall

Part of the University of Huddersfield’s Music Department, Phipps Hall is an intimate concert venue hosting a wide variety of musical events.

Huddersfield Art Gallery courtesy of Kirklees Council
Huddersfield
Gallery
Huddersfield Art Gallery

Based in the town centre and easily accessible, Huddersfield Art Gallery is home to an extensive and stunning collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures.

Huddersfield
Shopping Centre
Byram Arcade

Boasting three floors of independent shops, designers, cafés and restaurants, Byram Arcade is a stunning Victorian shopping and business hub.

Huddersfield
Coffeevolution

Hailed as the first independent, speciality coffee shop in the heart of Huddersfield, Coffeevolution is a hangout for locals of all ages.

Huddersfield
Gallery
AC Gallery

What was once, in the 1950s, a family ran art shop, has since evolved through the generations into a successful series of galleries across the north.

Huddersfield
Shop
Crafty Praxis

Located on the ground floor of the architectural gem that is Huddersfield’s Byram Arcade, Crafty Praxis is an arts and crafts shop that celebrates the handmade and unique.

Music venue
Bates Mill Blending Shed

Bates Mill started life as a spinning mill founded around the turn of the century making woolen yarn. The Blending Shed is a 5,000 sq ft multi-purpose space.

What's on: Festivals

Until
CinemaManchester
YANK at Cultplex

Thirteen movies to get to know the United States of America. Cultplex presents a season of film exploring America through its own lens.

From £7.50

Culture Guides

Star Nhà Ease
Cinema in the North

July's cinema highlights include spotlights on international cinema, a new cult classic, plus a visit from one of our favourite directors.

Exhibitions in the North

Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.

Theatre in Manchester
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.

European Poetry Festival European Camarade
Literature Events in the North

From tongue-twisters to twisty page-turners, we have all kinds of spoken word surprises in the latest literature round-up.

Helena Hauff
Music in the North

Shape-shifting bands, scorched-earth techno, and off-grid festivals. Our latest music picks catch the live scene at its most urgent, inventive and alive.