Bath Abbey
For the opening of Bath MusicFest, its artistic director, Joanna MacGregor, put herself centre stage with the Britten Sinfonia. Their concert has toured other venues, but MacGregor added the bells and whistles here. Bagpipes and drums, actually – processing in to Bath Abbey and reflecting the festival's Celtic theme. MacGregor's fearlessly eclectic approach and her pianist credentials have helped push the once-staid festival into a new era; the buzz in the abbey was palpable.
After the piping came crystalline purity, in the form of the chamber choir of Wells Cathedral School, under Nigel Perrin. They sang three part-songs by James MacMillan, the impeccably articulated harmonies coalescing into a misty, ethereal haze. With After Virtue, an unusual setting of words from Alasdair MacIntyre's study in moral theory, the pulse quickened towards an impassioned climax. The haunting lines of So Deep and the exuberance of The Halie Speerit's Dauncers then set the scene for MacMillan's Piano Concerto No 2, for piano and string orchestra, originally conceived for New York City Ballet. Although listeners could connect with the tight weave of folk melodies, seeing on a screen the fisticuffs and elbowing of the keyboard by soloist MacGregor was, for many, surely an eye-opener.
Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen performed in Lost Highway, MacGregor's own piece for piano, trumpet and strings. MacGregor's invocation of Charles Ives, John Cage and Steve Reich in her essentially jazz score added its own interest, but the flutey quality of Henriksen's sound was simply dazzling.