Manchester Collective Live
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Performing live for the first time since March, Manchester Collective will treat Leeds Town Hall to a stripped-back show designed to comfort and inspire.
The programme will open with several solo gems by J.S Bach, which, performed by Rakhi Singh (violin), Ruth Gibson (viola) and Nicholas Trygstad (cello), should really shine in the vast open space of Victoria Hall. Next, we’ll hear excerpts from the Goldberg Variations, one of classical music’s most beguiling works and a highlight of the Collective’s Isolation Broadcast series.
Alongside these masterpieces will sit a pair of works by British composer of classical and electronic music, Edmund Finnis. Brother and Sister are exquisitely constructed works of great fragility, beauty and warmth. The Collective are no strangers to Finnis’ music, having premiered The Centre is Everywhere at London’s Southbank Centre last year – they’re thus well-placed to bring out the best in these works.
This event, which is the third pilot concert by Leeds Arts, Events & Venues, comes at an exciting time for Manchester Collective. They’ve just released their debut EP Recreation on Icelandic record label Bedroom Community. All about change and transformation, it presents an experimental take on familiar works by Bach, Vivaldi and Ligeti, alongside new musical vignettes by British composer Paul Clark. It’s a stunning distillation of what the Collective does best – fearlessly melding old with new, comfort with danger, in a way that shouldn’t work, but emphatically does.
Following months of uncertainty about the future of the Collective, it’s great to have them back – on record and on stage. Here’s hoping that more shows are just around the corner!
