Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet
October 20, 2009

    Charity Concert for “Marginalised” at Union Chapel, Islington, London

    This was the first time that I have performed Jesus’ Blood with my own ensemble in London since 1993, and the first time I have played it at all with them since Brussels in 1997. This concert opened a week long series of concerts in aid of the charity Marginalised, and for it I invited many former members of my ensemble and other friends to form a larger group than usual – here around 26 performers. For the first part we did more recent pieces with a smaller group – John Potter, tenor, singing a series of Laude and a group of Irish Madrigals (setting of John Millington Synge’s Petrarch translations) as well as the instrumental piece, The Flower of Friendship, for electric guitar, viola, cello, and double bass that was premiered in York in February and which I have now played several times (Waterford, Limerick, Mexico City). With Jesus’ Blood my eldest daughters sang with John to form a small choir – the first time that I’ve done this. This isn’t the first time that they have played the piece though – at a benefit concert for LaMonte Young in 1997 they both played cello, along with members of Pulp (and I played piano for Pulp when Jarvis Cocker performed This is Hardcore)… (All four of my children had played The Sinking of the Titanic with me at the Roundhouse, London in May).

    See Photos from the performance in the Photo Gallery.

    Gavin Bryars