The City of London Sinfonia’s Bright Fear blends poetry with Western and Chinese instruments in a boundless, deeply personal exploration of identity, family, and belonging that leaves its audience spellbound.Rating
Excellent!
Not for the first time (and hopefully not the last), I found myself spellbound in the company of the City of London Sinfonia. So much more than a chamber orchestra (though frankly that would be more than enough), they continually seek out new collaborations that bring different art forms together.
Bright Fear is the first in The Collections series, a collaborative project with the publisher Faber that pairs contemporary poets with composers to create new works. In this instance, Mary Jean Chan’s poetry collection Bright Fear is read by the poet in person alongside new music by composer Nicola T. Chang. Exquisitely performed by the City of London Sinfonia, the ensemble includes traditional Chinese instruments, such as the erhu, dizi, bawu and yang qin, encouraging both dissonance and a fusion of Chinese and Western sound.
As one would expect, the orchestra enters the stage first, Chinese instrumentalists sitting side by side with their European counterparts. Chang, also acting as conductor, then takes her place at the grand piano, followed by Chan, who sits centre stage facing the audience. It is of course not unusual for a poet to recite their work, but placing Chan within the blended orchestra firmly establishes their voice as an instrument in its own right, drawing everyone present into a deeply personal collective experience.
Chan recites the whole book, chronologically from start to finish, giving the listener a complete narrative arc. Meanwhile, Chang plays piano, adds texture on the vibraphone, conducts, and cues Chan in, all with energy and nuance. Her accomplishments might seem a little excessive, but they are undeniably impressive.
It’s fair to say the result is absorbing, brave, and deeply reflective: there is a reverential silence following the final note, as the audience is left slightly stunned by the shared experience. Far more than the sum of its parts, the evening offers a glimpse into Chan’s world through the deeply personal nature of the poetry. The work boldly explores identity, multilingualism, colonial legacy, shifting family dynamics, and queerphobia, framed by the surge in anti-Asian racism that followed the onset of the Covid pandemic.
The orchestral pieces gradually grow in length, with the Chinese instruments taking solos of their own, while percussionist Tim Gunnell certainly earns his keep, moving at speed across instruments through some of the more energetic sections.
One slight niggle: the stage in Hall One at Kings Place sits somewhat higher than the seating, so the audience can see little beyond the front row of performers. This means that only the grand piano, the yang qin, the poet, and first violinist Alexandra Wood are fully visible. I’m not sure how this could be remedied, but another arrangement might allow a more complete view of the whole ensemble.
Bright Fear is a deeply personal reflection, tracing an arc of self-acceptance and parental understanding, made more complex by the poet’s physical separation from their family during the pandemic.
Neither a poetry reading nor a concert, Bright Fear is a genuinely moving collaboration between the two, in which a new form of borderless communication is established.
Poet: Mary Jean Chan
Composer, pianist and conductor: Nicola T. Chang
City of London Sinfonia CEO: Rowan Rutter
Executive Producer: Kevin Fitzmaurice
Associate Producer: Steve Thomas
The Collections: Bright Fear has completed its run at Kings Place.
