Review of Intimate Letters at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation.
BLOODY HELL STUDENTS, WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE?!
There could be no better setting for Intimate Letters than the International Anthony Burgess Centre. As
a show with a strong connection to literature, and focusing the relationship
between words and music, the centre sets the scene before any performers
appear. Steeped in the history of the ground-breaking author of “A Clockwork
Orange”, the performance room of the centre is lit with two plain, upturned lamps, setting the stage almost as a study the one could imagine belonging to a burned-out artistic genius. Which, incidentally, was the perfect setting for the commissioned work, song-cycle Inside Mr
Enderby, written by Australian composer Huw Belling.
The wealth of Australian
talent in this project was increased exponentially by baritone Mitch Riley, the
soloist for Inside Mr Enderby,
currently in residence at École Internationale
de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, who played such an integral part in the afternoon
performance.
Defying tradition in a way the Manchester Collective will
soon be known for, the concert opened with Janacek’s String Quartet Intimate Letters as opposed to our
commissioned work. Insipired by the letters between Janacek and his muse, a
beautiful young married woman, the string quartet is the perfect accompaniment
to the main event of the second half. The exceptional pedigree of these players
is evident from the start; the crunchy harmonies of Janacek’s writing are
perfectly together, excellently in tune and therefore come alive under the
expertise of the Collective. Led by Rakhi Singh, co-leader of the Manchester
Camerata, these players bring Janacek’s tortured yearnings for his muse to
life, aided in between movements by Mitch Riley, who read excerpts from the
letters in question aloud for the audience. The excerpts chosen reflected the
corresponding movements in a hauntingly beautiful way, which is both a
testament to Riley’s delivery and their choosing.
Succeeding the rousing close to the Janacek, there followed
a discussion about the project, led by cellist Adam Szabo and soloist Mitch
Riley. However, this was not your regular, dry, pre-performance talk.
Underpinned by an evidently excellent understanding of the works and their
context, or rather soon to be context, the discussion was lively, engaging and
informative without boring the audience. Adam Szabo showed clear intelligence
whilst not appearing meretricious or arrogant; in fact, quite the opposite.
Very many great conductors and artists could learn from the concerts discussion
as it did exactly what it was meant to do; it increased the audience’s
understanding of the work and bred excitement for its performance.
The question and answer portion of this discussion, however,
portrayed something disappointing. Whilst it was wonderful to have questions at
all, it made me realise how few students and young people there were in the
audience! As someone who had a massive toss-up as to whether to study English
or Music, the project was a dream come true and whilst unfortunately (or
fortunately?) my question was answered by the Collective before I got chance to
ask, the questions were just a little too passionless for my liking! The
knowledge and academic pedigree of these musicians is fantastic, and the
project inspired, so to see a lack of sparkling, intense questions was
disappointing. Especially as they offer free student tickets!
However, my disappointment was swamped by my absolute
adoration of the work Inside Mr
Enderby.
I first read A Clockwork Orange in my
A-Level years, and fell in love with Burgess’s kooky mind, which is why I
followed onto Inside Mr Enderby shortly
after. The work, for me, captured the very essence of Enderby in harmonic
language. Described by Szabo as a “series of character studies”, the work could
not have brought Burgess to life more truly. Naturally, this is in part due to
the soloist, not just the composer. Riley brought to life every character in a
clearly defined, inspired manner, with not one moment on stage not carefully
considered. As with many modern works, the harmony was at times challenging,
and to see Riley navigate the “melody” with such ease, using his full range so
effortlessly (including falsetto) was exceptional. The strings showed the same
level of professionalism throughout the commission, however Riley stole the
show. A consummate performer, his physical portrayal of the characters as well
as those in voice and inflection was beyond brilliant. If Inside Mr Enderby is ever adapted to an opera, as was hinted at
during the discussion, I would see no other Mr Enderby than Mitch Riley.
With such an incredible afternoon’s entertainment, and of
course the free student tickets, it’s hard to believe so few attended. It has
been a very long time since I left a chamber music concert genuinely buzzing to
tell my peers about it, and for that alone the Manchester Collective deserves
great credit. The atmosphere created by these exceptional performers is one of
inclusion and passion, and so I can think of no better organisation to take
chamber music performance forward into the 21st Century and give it
longevity.