Local legends combine to create hypnotic masterpiece

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During the course of their illustrious 150 year history the Halle Orchestra have enjoyed their fair share of

pinnacle moments. Premiering work by Edward Elgar and Gustav Mahler must rank up there in the

working life of Britain's longest-serving professional symphony orchestra.

But even these landmark occasions can scarcely have generated quite as much love, goodwill and sheer

pleasure as last night's collaboration with fellow Mancunian favourites Elbow. The pairing of these two

local legends old and new was another inspired choice which draws to a close the first week of the

second Manchester International Festival.

It was clear from the start that even with the massive level of expectation for the first of only two sell-out

shows at the glorious Bridgewater Hall that this was going to be something special. True, Elbow have

form in the orchestral collaboration department having won plaudits when they performed with the BBC

Orchestra to recreate their Mercury-winning album The Seldom Seen Kid earlier this year. But front man

Guy Garvey, a performer without a scintilla of pretension about him, had promised that they were saving

something special for the home gig.

That something special was provided in the form of contemporary composer Joe Dudell, another leading

Manchester musical figure, who had spent months brilliantly orchestrating work from across the Elbow

back catalogue.

Arriving on stage to an adulatory welcome, Garvey, whose singing was a revelation throughout, was

joined by soaring violins, punching brass, grand timpani and the celestial voices of the Halle Youth

Orchestra before launching into a luxurious version of "Mirrorball", fragments of spinning light cannoning

off the delighted faces of the crowd. For the increasingly ubiquitous "Grounds for Divorce", Garvey called

on the audience not just to sing but clap and stomp along.

"The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver" again benefited from the gargantuan changes of scale and

mood that only a full orchestra can bring about. In "Some Riot", Garvey roared "brother if I don't run with

these fuckers" but it didn't sound odd at all. The first half finished with a specially extended version of

"Weather to Fly".

By now Garvey was beaming with genuine pride and delight at what had been created here – and was

rewarded with a standing ovation for his efforts. After the interval a newly written overture to "Starlings"

offered a lush and tender counterpoint to the Gershwin-like stabs of brass. At times the sensation from the

rest of the set was akin to floating through warm honey. But while this was new territory for Elbow – ball

gowns rather than vest tops in the audience – they were enjoying every moment of it.

The last track, "Powder Blue", was a hypnotic masterpiece of climbing horns and sad strings. The sheer

number of people on stage meant there could be none of the encore ritual so the inevitable finale "One

Day Like This" followed straight on with none of the usual shenanigans. The audience discarded

classical conventions to stand; lovers' arms snaked round hips and the swaying began. So mesmerising

was what had preceded that it looked at one point as if the showstopper was in danger of being

upstaged. But by the end the Bridgewater Hall was a sea of waving arms set against peals of chiming

bells. Tonight a special surprise is promised for the final show. This however, as Garvey had pointed out

from the off, was a lovely, lovely thing.

Jonathan Brown, The Independent