The Alaskan wilderness and the Arctic sky is where night and day steadily unfold with a special kind of magic. These horizons stretch far and wide across the nature-infused music of John Luther Adams. His ‘Canticles of the Sky’ for string quartet is stark, bright and expansive. It takes inspiration from sunbeams that hit ice crystals and refract, forming vivid halos and sundogs. To hear it live is to feel the steady, creeping warmth of a frosty day…
On our way to these distant soundscapes, we bask in the radiant purity of Arvo Pärt’s‘Summa’ and briefly leave Earth behind for alien terrains. Experimental British musician and composer Mica Levi is best known for their scores for films like Under the Skin and The Zone of Interest. In a new commission for the Collective, Jasmine Morris manipulates time with her slow-crawling textures and otherworldly sounds in ‘Poems of Consciousness’.
Arvo Pärt Summa – string quartet, 1991 (6’) Benjamin Britten String Quartet No. 2, I. Allegro calmo senza rigore – string quartet, 1945 (8’) Henry Purcell Fantasia in C Minor, Z. 738 – string quartet, 1680 (4’) Mica Levi You Belong to Me – string quartet, 2015 (17’) Jasmine Morris Poems of Consciousness – string quartet, 2026 (10’) John Luther Adams Canticles of the Sky – string quartet, 2015 (18’)
“We’re all about the atmosphere and immersion. You might encounter lighting to set the mood, amplified sound to deliver music straight to your eardrums, or maybe a little bit of haze.
Between pieces, our performers often share a short explanation about the music. They might chat about what to listen out for, the themes or their personal experience.
Rather than the standard black attire, our musicians wear what they feel is comfortable: whether that’s a colourful dress, or a woolly jumper if it’s chilly.
To us, music is most powerful when it’s immediate and personal, not bound by convention. Whether you’re a first-timer or veteran concert-goer, you’re invited to a new kind of classical music experience.”
— Manchester Collective
