Music / Reviews
Review: Jacob Collier & Britten Sinfonia, Bristol Beacon – ‘An evolutionary need for expression’
Did you know Bristol’s newest choir comes with its own fifty piece orchestra?
The Bristol Beacon air was thick with anticipation. Tonight, every hat-and-scarf-clad attendee would be inaugurated into the iconic Audience Choir of Grammy Award winner Jacob Collier.
While stragglers settled and the lights dimmed, the palpable silence was splintered only by the odd niggling cough. For one-night-only, arrangements by Collier and American mandolinist Chris Thile would debut in an irreplicable three hour performance.
is needed now More than ever
Suzie Collier, conductor and mother of the night’s musical maverick, bounded toward her platform. The diamanté rim of her black dress the only visual hook before she melded into the monochrome mass of Britten Sinfonia.
From the grand and sinister brass arrangements of Nautilus to the pacey courtship of strings in Spring from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, Suzie’s petite frame stood steadfast as she trailed fibonacci spirals through the air.
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Two young cellists from the Royal Academy of Music demanded attention in their debut, conversing with the orchestra through dramatic and buoyant reverberations in Violoncelles Vibrez!
Before long, Danzón No. 2 dragged us to the dance floor – the woodwind and percussion sections uncanny partners in this Mexican composition, hips locked as they followed one another through the piece, the bright click of claves like heels keeping time with each step.
Anticipation built to a giddy crescendo until Collier sprung onstage. In his trademark hareem pants and sports-mode crocs a la Glastonbury Healing Field, he clashed with the musicians behind him like a blossom on a bare branch. After all, his infatuation with the “magic” of music bloomed early.
The first improvisational joust of the evening between Collier and his “hero” Thile was like a couple having their own conversation within a group. Though featuring vignettes of Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright and Lennon & McCartney’s I Feel Fine, the songs were lost within the improvised call and response, like a radio in the kitchen whilst you watched the manic finale of your new favourite show on TV.
Collier calls self-described ‘extroverted mandolinist’ Thile his hero, while Thile calls Collier his ‘fellow aspiring Tigger’ – photo: Jessie Myers / Soul Media
Collier’s music is emboldened by the physicality with which he performs. His expressive glee at doing what he loves akin to a child realising there are no real consequences to colouring outside the lines.
Drawing stunned laughter from the audience, he sang Bach’s Vivace from Concerto in D Minor BWV 1043 with the ease of a prepubescent choir boy. He is the 51st instrument in the orchestra.
After a few tech issues and the realisation ‘it takes so much electricity to make acoustic music these days’, Suzie leads Thile in Presto in moto pepetuo.
Although his finger speed would gain kudos from Mavis Beacon, the mandolin sounded tinny when swallowed by the other instruments. He truly shone once isolated from the orchestra, the melody brighter and crisp as he closed the first act.
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The crowd returned to an exceptional orchestral debut of Collier’s Hush Scuffle. This playful arrangement penned just for the performance was filled with stamping and whispers, inspired by memories of being told to stay hush throughout his childhood, despite an evolutionary need for expression.
Then, it was finally time for our choir to join Collier for Little Blue. This beautifully atmospheric fan favourite was sweet and earnest, the merging of voices old and young hopeful as we found ‘a way to carry the weight of the world’ together.
As Collier followed on with formative track Djesse he sat cross-legged on the floor, exuding an innocence and humility atypical of the international acclaim he has garnered since 2011.
Re-throned at the grand piano, Collier’s touch on the ivory keys was like light dancing on water. We were transported to a Southern porch during Julep, the back booth of a jazz bar in Lua, a church pew for Pie Jesu and back to the Beacon for Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.
To echo the bloke behind me, we were in the presence of a truly “fabulous man”.
Not only Thile and his own mum Suzie – Collier got the whole Beacon involved in his performance – photo: photo: Jessie Myers / Soul Media
After Summer Rain drenched us with words of loss and longing, Bristol veterans nostalgically crooned Wild Mountain Thyme, and Collier gave a moving ode about his mother’s impact on young creative’s lives, I was blinking away tears.
Though reluctant for this evening to end, Collier joined Thile in the ring for one final spar during the Punch Brothers’ My Oh My. After a second standing ovation, our choir settled for the last song. More confident thanks to interval pints, we belted our way through Queen’s Somebody To Love with vigour and appreciation. The joy of feeling part of something united in an ever divisive time.
Though you might not find a full orchestra in your local church hall, I think joining a choir might just be the secret antidote to the January blues.
Main image: Andrea Loftus
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