Saturday 21st March, 7pm
Brunel Goods Shed
“Slow Change” explores landscapes of memory in the music of Steve Reich and his wider musical world. Performed by Phaedra Ensemble, the programme is built largely around the string quartet, tracing how repetition, transformation, and memory continue to resonate in contemporary music.
Few composers have shaped modern sound as profoundly as Reich. His early experiments with phasing created hypnotic ways of listening, where subtle shifts in repetition gradually transformed the musical surface. Violin Phase offers a glimpse of that groundbreaking period, while later works reveal other facets of his voice. WTC 9/11 confronts memory directly, weaving the recorded voices of New Yorkers into a stark reflection on collective trauma. Triple Quartet channels the rhythmic intensity of Bartók and the intonations of Hebrew singing into a work of relentless drive and energy, pushing the string quartet into thrilling new territory.
One of Reich’s deepest inspirations was John Coltrane, whose modal improvisations showed how repetition and intensity could open new spiritual and emotional spaces. His landmark work Africa, heard here in a new arrangement by Phaedra Ensemble Co-director Jamie Hamilton, highlights this influence, linking the rhythmic vitality of jazz with the evolving processes of minimalism. And in the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Enigma, sound itself seems to breathe and expand, creating vast landscapes of resonance.
About Phaedra Ensemble
Phaedra Ensemble is a London-based group of musicians making contemporary music that crosses genres and scenes. Built around strings but open in form, the ensemble brings together players from different musical backgrounds to create performances that feel immediate, thoughtful, and alive.
Phaedra works with a flexible lineup rather than a fixed band, allowing each project to take its own shape. This approach has led to collaborations with a wide range of artists, including Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, legendary composer Gavin Bryars, electronic artist Mira Calix, Erased Tapes vibraphonist Masayoshi Fujita, jazz trumpeter Laura Jurd, experimental songwriter Leo Chadburn, and singer-songwriters Love Ssega and Susheela Raman. They’ve also worked with Indonesian gamelan ensemble Gondrong Gunarto Gamelan and Qawwali group Rizwan-Muazzam.
Violinist and Artistic Director Phillip Granell lives in Stroud, linking the ensemble’s London base with the South West.
Realms, Phaedra’s debut album of music by iconic American singer and composer Meredith Monk, is released on 22 May on New York label Cantaloupe Records.
Phaedra Ensemble creates performances that invite close listening and curiosity, welcoming audiences from across musical worlds.
Tickets: £16 - 20 advance, £25 on the door
16+
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