Sir James MacMillan’s We Are Collective by MacMillan, Alberga, Franck, pt 07 lip 2023, od (2023/2023), Shoreditch Church, Londyn, Wielka Brytania

Take note of the Maxwell Quartet – they bring wit, charisma and a sense of adventure to their programmes” The New York Times Shoreditch’s ancient church, mentioned in the nursery rhyme ‘Oranges and Lemons’, provides a very special backdrop for the English premiere of a new piano quintet – We Are Collective – by acclaimed composer Sir James MacMillan. Its tongue-in-cheek flavour is mixed with wisps and allusions of half-forgotten old Scottish songs – here performed by fellow Scots, the Maxwell Quartet – before a finale infused with jazz and blues references. The spirit of folk music connects the Maxwell Quartet’s own re-workings of Scottish traditional music and Eleanor Alberga’s joyous and energetic String Quartet no 2, while the programme is completed by Cesar Franck’s ultra-expressive piano quintet.