Sacconi Quartet [Ben Hancox, Hannah Dawson (violins), Robin Ashwell (viola), Cara Berridge (cello]; Festival Voices [Lucy Cronin, Ana Beard Fernández, Lucy Goddard, Sam Jenkins, Michael Craddock, Oskar McCarthy] / Greg Batsleer; Brett Cox (electronics)

Riley Sun Rings (2002)

Hall One, Kings Place, London
Thursday 16 January 2025

by Ben Hogwood Pictures courtesy of Monika S Jakubowska / Kings Place

A sobering thought: in the course of this concert, the NASA spacecraft Voyager 1 travelled another 60,000 miles away from the Solar System.

Quite how far it will travel in the course of the Kings Place festival Earth Unwrapped remains to be seen, but by that time audiences will have enjoyed a wide array of musical and visual treats, all designed to heighten awareness of the plight in which we find ourselves here on planet Earth.

Such thoughts were close to the surface throughout Sun Rings, an ambitious start to the festival. The substantial work was completed by Terry Riley in 2002, the result of an approach made by NASA to the Kronos Quartet. They wanted to create a work based on recordings of ‘space sounds’ (plasma waves) from Voyager 1 made by Professor Donald Gurnett. Riley had these transferred to audible audio frequencies in order to mark 25 years since the spacecraft was launched, at the same time contemplating the place of humanity in the universe. Since Sun Rings was completed, Voyager I has passed from the Solar System to interstellar space.

The Kronos Quartet released their recording of Sun Rings in 2019 (reviewed by Arcana here), and until now were the only ensemble to have played the piece in public. This UK premiere from the Sacconi Quartet and Festival Voices changed that, an illustration of the ever-growing reach of ‘minimalist’ music. The twelve assembled on stage performed heroically, the unbroken span of ten movements lasting 90 minutes yet delivered with flair, poise and no little emotion.

The music was prefaced by words from Riley himself, a stamp of authenticity and gratitude from the 90-year-old composer. It was the first of many audio clips carefully managed by Brett Cox, whose contributions were crucial to the success of the performance. Chief among these were the audio translations of the Voyager craft itself, converted by Riley from spectrographs. They provided an industrial edge to the sound – reminiscent of Voyager contemporaries Cabaret Voltaire – and were alternately eerie and consoling in their different sound worlds. As the audience sat in the dark the notion of being on our own journey was inescapable, a reminder that our own planet moves even quicker than Voyager 1 itself.

The quartet made a strong start, bolstered by colourful percussion. The Overture, Hero Danger and Beebopterismo sections had rhythmic vitality, complemented by the electronics and samples. Towards the halfway mark however the momentum and intensity flagged, the notion of deep space now all around us but feeling more oppressive. Time stood relatively still in the eerie Earth / Jupiter Kiss section, though Riley’s musical intensity flagged before being re-energised by the Festival Voices. The excellent singers brought expression and impetus to Earth Whistlers and Prayer Central, but on occasion it was difficult to hear some of the words, the singers’ pitch aligned with the frequency of the audio recordings.

The most powerful music, ironically, was the slowest and the most restrained. The coda, One Earth, One People, One Love, became a deeply felt meditation, the singers whispering under their breath as they moved slowly to the exit in an inspired piece of choreography. The pensive strings remained, adding their commentary to recorded spoken word, whose statements could not have been more apt.

As I write this, the news of alarming carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere serves as a reminder of our changing world, hurtling towards the environmental precipice. This stark reality check confirms Earth Unwrapped to be arguably the most important arts festival in London this year – and this was an auspicious start.

For more information on the Earth Unwrapped festival, head to the Kings Place website. Click on the artist names for Sacconi Quartet and Festival Voices, and composer Terry Riley. You can visit NASA to find out where Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are now

Published post no.2,415 – Saturday 17 January 2025