The 12 Ensemble are a vibrant band who are re-energising the UK classical music scene. Their summer concert opens with Radiohead member Jonny Greenwood’s hypnotic composition Water, a gorgeous meditative piece incorporating the hypnotic drone sounds of two Indian tanpuras. The award-winning soprano Mary Bevan joins The 12 for Britten’s radiant, brightly-coloured song cycle Les Illuminations, erotically-charged settings of phantasmagorical texts by the wayward boy poet Rimbaud.

“Bevan and the conductorless 12 Ensemble move as one organism as she glides mesmerisingly over their ebbing and flowing pulse. The heart of the recital is a radiantly searching performance of Britten’s Les illuminations” – BBC Music Magazine

Programme

Britten – Les Illuminations
Johnny Greenwood – Three Miniatures from Water

Performers

The 12 Ensemble
Mary Bevan soprano
Max Ruisi director/leader