United Kingdom Edinburgh Worldwide Competition 2024 [8]: 14.8.2024. (SRT)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Harry Baker (piano). Queen’s Corridor.
Ilumina, Alina Ibragimova (violin), Jennifer Stumm (viola). Usher Corridor
Star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a well-known face on the Edinburgh Worldwide Competition, however that is his first look with Harry Baker as a recital associate. Their programme confirmed off their strengths very properly, even when its theme of items by composer impressed by Bach was slightly unfastened. Which composer wasn’t influenced by Bach, in any case?
Nonetheless, even when it had simply been an excuse to play items they liked then it could have been price it. The folks songs by Janáček, for instance, miracles of communicative directness, sounded nice, particularly when main into the extra intensified drama of Pohádka. The jazz numbers by Invoice Evans and Pat Metheny had a sleek swing to them, although they stored very exact time, and their encore, Baker’s model of Piazzolla’s Libertango confirmed their virtuosity very ably, not least as a result of Baker was beneficiant sufficient to present the entire flashiest strains to the cello.
However it was in getting near the precise Bach that the recital succeeded most. Kanneh-Mason performed a number of actions from the primary Cello Suite, typically deploying vibrato and typically not, invigorating the musical strains with a terrific sense of life. There was an opulent high quality to all of his enjoying with a beautiful, mahogany richness to the sound, and an intense involvement with its manufacturing. It typically appeared as if he performed the cello as a lot along with his facial expressions as along with his fingers! Baker was a extra understated presence on the piano, however his unassuming method offset Kanneh-Mason’s emotional directness very successfully, and once they collaborated on arranging a few of Bach’s Preludes and Fugues the outcomes have been a deal with, the E minor prelude sounding keening and intense, whereas the D-flat one was delicate and joyous and, in that sense, very Bachian.
However tremendous as their partnership was, an much more concerned one was showcased later that day by Ilumina. This musical collective – don’t name them an orchestra! – is on the Edinburgh Worldwide Competition for a four-concert residency, they usually exemplify pageant director Nicola Benedetti’s goal of constructing the pageant each extra inclusive and extra numerous.
Ilumina was based on a Brazilian espresso farm by violist Jennifer Stumm. Earlier than the primary night live performance, Stumm led a day occasion on the Usher Corridor the place she launched the musicians and spoke a bit in regards to the group’s background. Their title comes from the Portuguese phrase which means ‘to shine a lightweight’, and that’s what they hope to do on a musical tradition nonetheless dominated by the norms and expectations of the northern hemisphere. Stumm speaks of her need to construct a brand new inventive ecosystem with neighborhood and inclusivity at its centre. Motion is on the coronary heart of their live shows. Certainly, the musicians moved round between every bit and performed every one in a distinct formation. Even the viewers ended up doing a few of their motion workout routines at one stage within the afternoon occasion!
The purpose, nevertheless, is to re-think how the sound matches collectively and what it means. They don’t use a conductor, they usually play with out footwear, however these communicate to a wider aspect of connectivity reasonably than serving as a gimmick. Stumm argues powerfully that inclusion isn’t only a nicety: it’s important and it creates greatness, and as a part of that the group combine conventional and fashionable Brazilian musical parts into their enjoying.
Pretty as these concepts are, they wouldn’t depend for a lot if Ilumina didn’t make such a terrific sound. Some horns and oboes appeared for Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, however in any other case it was all strings, and the nice and cozy tub of sensuous gorgeousness that these strings produced was an indulgent delight with which to spend time. I felt like I placed on weight simply by listening to it! This made their Wagner (organized by Sebastian Gürtler) sound terribly wealthy, even with out winds, and it conveyed large opulence onto their enjoying of the totally different Brazilian kinds. They performed a bit of Lully, whereas strolling round, alongside Brazilian fashionable percussive beats, and if it took me some time to heat to it then I may a minimum of respect the purpose they’re making by the juxtaposition. Additionally they paired a motion from Beethoven’s Op.131 quartet with a bit of Brazilian funk, alongside some Brazilian fashionable Shorinho.
The weakest quantity was essentially the most classical one. Their timing was far and wide within the first motion of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, with both the bass line pushing forward too urgently, or undesirable caesuras between the soloists and the remainder of the string part. Issues in the end settled, nevertheless, and the interaction between Stumm and star visitor violinist Alina Ibragimova was rewardingly shut, with a sense that they have been plugged into the identical supply.
Possibly not every little thing labored, however a lot about Ilumina was refreshingly new and, as an excellent of cooperation, they’re fairly inspiring.
Simon Thompson
The Ilumina residency lasts till Saturday seventeenth August. The Edinburgh Worldwide Competition runs at venues throughout the town till Sunday twenty fifth August. Click on right here for additional particulars.
Featured Picture: Ilumina’s Within the Gentle of Shadow at Usher Corridor © Jess Shurte
14.8.2024 – Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Harry Baker (piano), Queen’s Corridor.
Lianne La Havas (arr. Sheku Kanneh-Mason/Harry Baker) - Bitter Flower
Trad. Czech (arr. Janáček / Harry Baker) – Nos 3, 4, 10 & 15 from Fifteen Moravian Folksongs
Janáček – Pohádka
Invoice Evans – Waltz for Debby
Pat Metheny – James
Sheku Kanneh-Mason & Harry Baker – Prelude & Fugue
Laura Mvula (arr. Harry Baker) – Inexperienced Backyard
Bach – Cello Suite No 1 in G, BWV 1007: I. Prelude; Piano Improvisation on Chorale: Ich Ruf Zu Dir; Cello Suite No 1 in G, BWV 1007: III. Courante, IV Sarabande
Baker (after Bach) – I Name to You
Villa-Lobos – Bachianas Brasileiras No.2: III. Dansa, IV. Toccata
Bach (arr. Baker) – Prelude & Fugue in D-flat
Piazzola (arr. Baker) – ‘Libertango’
14.8.2024 – In The Gentle Of The Shadow: Ilumina, Alina Ibragimova (violin), Jennifer Stumm (viola), Usher Corridor.
Improvisations on Brazilian Rhythm: Capoeira, Funk Carioca & Frevo
Powell – From the Afro-Sambas: Canto de Yemanja; Canto de Ossanha
Villa-Lobos – Bachianas Brasileiras No 4: Preludio
Lully – Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs
György Kurtág – Schatten
Wagner – Prelude to Tristan und Isolde
Beethoven – String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op 131: Allegro
Mozart – Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat, K364
