The BBC Proms' Bristol weekend concluded with two contrasting concerts on Sunday afternoon, each exploring ritual in music. At St George's Bristol, Nigel Short's Tenebrae choir delivered a 25th-anniversary performance of Joby Talbot's Path of Miracles, while at Bristol Beacon, Sakari Oramo and Anu Komsi presented György Kurtág's Kafka Fragments in a deeply personal duo.
Tenebrae's monumental Path of Miracles
Tenebrae's performance of Path of Miracles, a 2005 commission inspired by the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, aimed for grandeur. The piece, known for its cult following, unfolds from a low drone into a complex tapestry of post-minimalist patterns, chants, and dances. The choir surrounded the audience, moving through aisles and forming various groupings, physically dramatising the pilgrim's journey.
The vocal precision was remarkable, with sopranos and basses demonstrating extraordinary endurance. However, the venue posed challenges. As Short noted, the piece was conceived for "wonderful cathedrals," not the creaking wooden floors and heat of St George's. An audience member fainting disrupted the choreography, and the sounds of movement often overpowered the music, grounding the ethereal experience.
Kurtág's Kafka Fragments: an intimate ritual
At Bristol Beacon, Oramo, the BBC Symphony Orchestra's chief conductor, set aside his baton to play violin alongside soprano Anu Komsi, his wife. Together, they performed Kurtág's 1986 Kafka Fragments, a cycle of 40 short pieces drawn from Kafka's diaries and letters. The texts range from tender to absurd, and the music, in the composer's centenary year, showcases his playful yet profound style.
The duo's interpretation was calm and focused, treating each fragment as a search for truth. They navigated slippery near-octaves, simple lyricism, and bravura passages with equanimity, never forcing interpretation. The performance felt like a love story or a concealed opera, but above all, a quest for meaning.
Impact and availability
These concerts highlighted the diversity of ritual in music, from communal spectacle to intimate dialogue. The Kafka Fragments performance is available on BBC Sounds until 12 October, while the Proms continue until 12 September.
