Centre for Contemporary Performing Arts

Setting sonnets to music is a long-standing and multifarious tradition. It began with the composers of the Italian Renaissance and continues happily to this day. Gavin Bryars’ suite from the sonnets of Shakespeare is one of the most intriguing musical adaptations of poetry in recent decades. The engaging instrumentation is dominated by percussion instruments, including a cimbalom and a vibraphone, seconded by electric guitar, piano, clarinet, and a small string section. This musical weave is complemented by the free-soaring lyrics of the sonnets both in song (world-famous tenor John Potter) and in recitation (avant-garde Irish artist Gavin Friday). “When choosing the sonnets, I decided to not use the ones I already knew. I felt that the fact that I knew them might easily lull me into a false sense of security,” Bryars explained of the creative process. The less-known sonnets were all the more inspiring for Bryars and roused him into creating an extraordinary work for extraordinary artists.