Civic House, Glasgow 5/11/26
IPSA Collective
Contemporary music enthusiasts were treated to a varied, electro-acoustic showcase by IPSA Collective, curated within The Night With salon concert series, following a bustling day of workshops at Glasgow’s Civic House as part of the Performing Rights Society Composer’s Day.
Performed by the dynamic new Scotland-based ensemble – featuring soprano Stephanie Lamprea, violinist Feargus Heatherington, flautist Richard Craig, and percussionist Darren Gallacher – the programme moved from condensed solo and duo offerings to expansive treatments with all four musicians.
The concert opened with Stuart Macrae’s incarnadine, a haunting study initially conceived for a prospective operatic murder scene based on Macbeth. Featuring Craig on a transposed bass flute layered over processed recordings, the piece captured a chilling dread and stillness, echoing Macbeth’s famous reflection on the “multitudinous seas”.
This was followed by Thea Musgrave’s Primavera, arranged as a short, intense, virtuosic tour-de-force for violin and coloratura soprano. Setting text by Peruvian poet Amalia Elguera, the performance highlighted the striking vocal agility of Lamprea and the lively interplay of Heatherington’s violin, paying homage to a collaborative work first premiered for flute and soprano in 1971.
The first half concluded with Ollie Hawker’s The Wasp and the Gibbet, a sinewy, humorous and catchy piece commissioned specifically for the collective. Hawker draws on childhood memories of Combe Gibbet in Berkshire and local folklore surrounding a bizarre 1676 murder, blending storytelling, emotional resonance, and a whimsical examination of narrative through the dietary habits of wasps.
The evening continued with Aileen Sweeney’s Luminous Tree for solo soprano, drawn from her cycle They Brush The Skyline. With a text by poet Christine de Luca, the piece is marked by a luminous, eerie and evocative melodic texture and environmental awareness.
Next came Aidan Lochrin’s Germinal, the title track from IPSA Collective’s new recording, which was also being launched this evening. This is a setting of the poignant final words of Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo Lombardi. The text’s vivid agrarian and martial imagery – invoking the Field of Mars and the sowing of a dragon’s teeth – was matched with gripping intensity by the ensemble. It begins with electronic soundscapes and a lamenting flute, moving into layered lithophone, cymbals and vocals.
A sharp stylistic shift arrived with Katsutoshi Nagasawa’s Sattoh (1975). A musical depiction of traditional Kabuki theatre music, Nagasawa’s pieces rests on the theatrical ferocity of the contrast between fue or piccolo and drums. Here Darren Gallacher’s alternatingly gentle, dynamic, crisp and deeply resonating percussion work brought out the visceral pulse of the piece with mesmerising clarity.
After a further interval, the evening concluded resoundingly with Fergus Hall’s The Old Woman and the Blackbird for the whole ensemble – soprano, flute, violin and percussion, including bespoke gongs. Serving as a meditative ode to winter, cold, and seasonal transition, the work reflects on frosted ponds, shifting weather, and the quiet act of listening to birds outside an open window.
Altogether, this concert offered a fascinating journey through experimental chamber works, historical inspirations and vivid textural landscapes. By seamlessly blending poetry,theatrical memory,folk narrative,and rigorous contemporary composition,IPSA Collective demonstrate why they are a fresh, driving force in Scotland’s new music scene.
The IPSA Collective: https://www.ipsacollective.com
The Night With: https://thenightwith.com
TNW Music: http://tnwmusic.com
PRS Foundation: https://prsfoundation.com
