Shades by Manchester Collective

In ‘Shades’, we explore the next chapter of our ongoing collaboration with the British composer Edmund Finnis. The two string quartets presented here are focused and fragile investigations of sound. Ed’s writing frequently pushes our players to the very limit of what is possible – his music here is softer, more intimate, more bare. This material lives in the shadows, slowly shifting, finding form, and melting away.

The first quartet (presented second on this recording) is the more ghostlike of the two. The quiet haiku of the first movement melts into the gossamer of the second, delicate trills endlessly spiralling, catching the light. In the third movement short musical threads are deftly woven together, but this sense of momentum is quickly halted by the fourth – a hymn, composed after material by William Byrd. This music is some of Ed’s most beautiful, heart-breaking, and honest. Finally, the quartet gathers pace in the final, fifth movement, wheeling higher and higher, ecstatic and virtuosic.

The second quartet, this one commissioned by the Collective, is no less mysterious than the first. The outer movements were inspired by an unexpected act of discovery: in 2020, during a house move, Finnis uncovered a set of old minidiscs containing rough demo recordings that he had made nearly two decades earlier. Something of those forgotten songs lies at the heart of this quartet – the past, made real again.

There can be no doubt that there is biography in this music. In his own notes, Ed writes: “I think of these two quartets as some of the most personal and intimate pieces I have written. They are outcomes of my enduring need to communicate something that I’m incapable of fully expressing with words. I would if I could. I know that it has something to do with love.”

Radical human experiences. Known for their experimental programming and daring collaborations, Manchester Collective bring a combination of cutting edge contemporary music and classical masterpieces to a hungry, new audience.

"THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED"
Bachtrack

"BRILLIANT"
The Observer

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