Nico Muhly: Sentences, Barbican *****

As I always confess when talking about concerts is that I know nothing about music. Despite this, you couldn't help but adore the sublime array of pieces at this world premiere of Muhly's meditation about Alan Turing. The first half consisted of Dowland's If my complaints could passions move, Brittens reflection on the piece with Lachrymae, and Vicaldi's Stabat mater, which looks at Mary's grief at the Passion of Christ. The Dowland is wonderfully conflicting with both melancholy and joy evoked. It is rare, even for me, to cry at the first piece, yet Davies' voice is so exquisite that my eyes began to water towards the end. Whilst I could not see the similarities in the following piece, Britten's Lachrymae is nonetheless an astonishing composition astonishingly performed by the sinfonia with Lawrence Power giving a masterclass in the viola. The years of jokes this man must have had to endure was worth it to see the precision and extraordinary skill present to perform what must be a hellish piece to perform at times. The highlight of the first half was, without a shadow of a doubt, Vivldi's Stabat mater. The baroque piece captures the pain and anguish felt by someone for the loss of a loved one and is,for my money,one of the best pieces of art around to capture this story. The tierce de picardie at the end hints at the hope of the resurrection whilst Iestyn Davies sings this melody that conveys the utter despair of Christ's mother whilst maintaining grace, elegance and beauty. This neatly links to the main attraction and to the organist's very own composition. Both Stabat mater and Sentences use the grief and love of the mother as a vehicle to explore different things. In Sentences, this is used to explore the life of Alan Turing. This composition is so many things. It is clever without being gimmicky or arrogant. At times it is rather amusing yet isn't at all facetious. It is heartbreaking yet not sentimental. This relies on four factors that need to be spot on. First, and most importantly, Muhly's score is the closest that contemporary music has come to perfection. He doesn't underestimate the power of melody whilst also creating an edge to the piece through interesting uses of percussion (eg. typewriters and knitting needles). Secondly, the librettist Adam Gopnick is wonderful at both providing a coherent story and helps to provide the suppressed feeling that is released through the music. Davies is also astonishing, providing hearty performance, showing both the hurt and the joy of Turing and lastly, the sinfonia's accompaniment is rich and heart felt. The evening was an utter delight and pleasure.