SONIC TAPESTRIES: MUSIC BY JUDITH WEIR AND UNSUK CHIN
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Performers
- Juliet Wallace
- soprano
- Hugo Williamson
- narrator
- Trio Tóla
- Britten Sinfonia
- Cambridge University New Music Group
- Darren Bloom
- conductor
Programme
- Elliott Park
- new work
- Judith Weir
- Thread!
- Unsuk Chin
- Akrostichon-Wortspiel
Britten Sinfonia joins the Cambridge University New Music Group for an evening of vibrant contemporary music, bringing together two composers whose distinctive voices re-imagine the relationship between sound, language and imagination. Featuring projections from the Bayeux Tapestry and immersive lighting.
In Dame Judith Weir’s Thread!, a narrator tells the story of the Norman Conquest through translations of the Bayeux Tapestry’s original Latin text, alongside a musical accompaniment vividly bringing to life the sound of galloping horses and clashing swords. This iconic story is further brought to life in this performance through accompanying projections from the tapestry itself onto the walls of the Chapel.
Meanwhile, Unsuk Chin’s Acrostic-Wordplay (Akrostichon-Wortspiel) transforms fragments of language into a playful tapestry of colour and rhythm. Chin takes imagery and scenes from Lewis Carol’s Alice through the looking Glass and Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story, blending themes of storytelling and fantasy in a compellingly distorted composition.
These works are complimented by the premiere of a new commission for solo clarinet from Elliott Park, a doctoral candidate in composition at the Faculty of Music, performed by Thomas McDonnell, finalist of the 2026 Cambridge University Concerto Competition.
The programme opens with Weir’s Piano Trio, performed by Trio Tola, a student chamber ensemble on the University’s flagship Instrumental Award for Chamber Music scheme.