“Coming back to performing, I didn’t think it would be here…”
...And what a return it would prove to be as the undefinable Moses Sumney stepped back into the fray of live music with a majestic entourage of Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at none other than London's Royal Albert Hall.
The BBC’s stoic and nationally beloved Proms comes and goes each year with a flag-waving fervour like none other in the calendar year, aside from perhaps that of the Conservative Party’s conferences. Every year of the Proms, however, is noticeably filled to the brim with an entrenched, riddled problem typical to classical music: historically tailored to those of white, middle-class descent. Yet with each passing year, a more closeful watch is placed upon those who identify outside of these archaic norms, offering something not only visibly different, but sonically, too. And thus we arrive at tonight’s performance by the Ghanian-American performer, Moses Sumney.
As Sumney stepped into the cauldron of West London’s Royal Albert Hall, a gentle hush cascaded upon the crowd as he graced us with a magisterial presence, obscured by a thin black veil covering his visage. This quietened hush soon turned into a keen stare, transfixion, appetite to witness a uniquely striking voice against the grandiose nature of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conducted and collaborated with Jules Buckley, the pair effortlessly intertwined, allowing Sumney to conduct the conclusion to ‘Virile’ and intermingle with a variety of the instruments on stage, from bass saxophone, to harp, and organ.
“Sumney is both human being and a creative force.”
And this is where the unique artistry of Moses Sumney came into realisation. His sheer audacity and willingness to collaborate with others in the name of sonic evolution and expansion proved a mere revelation alongside Sumney’s willing compatriots. In particular, his recent critically-acclaimed album Græ warranted the depth and multi-faceted layers strung to each incantation etched into tracks such as ‘Colouour’, ‘Bless Me’, and ‘Cut Me’. In places, bolstering the grandiose environment, in others, poignantly accentuating the minute nuances and cadences within each twist and turn of Sumney’s repertoire.
Whilst Sumney harnessed this once-in-a-lifetime orchestral arrangement to the fullest extent, the singer-songwriter inside bore itself, too, performing a lone-guitar rendition of tonight’s concluders ‘Plastic’ and ‘Polly’. The former may have allowed a quietened portion of string arrangements to leak through, however, the real essence of these coupled tracks transcended into another ether, lifted higher by Sumey’s masterfully controlled voice which proved anything but nauseatingly piercing on this fine summer’s evening.
Ultimately, the evening proved a watershed moment for a multitude of reasons. Culturally, musically, artistically, Sumney personified the brilliance in each of these, bringing to light a spellbinding performance by himself, conductor Jules Buckley and a 30-person strong Symphony Orchestra. Whilst some overbearing percussion went amiss this evening, along with a missed opportunity of utilising the Orchestra within 'Rank & File', the sight of having a Ghanian-American perform at this historically white-infested series was something to cherish and strive further toward.
One can only hope the BBC Proms, as well as many other festival series around the world, sit up, pay attention, and thus stand up and take part in a culturally-tied musical revolution spearheaded by the undefinable likes of Moses Sumney.
8.5/10
All photos are courtesy of Mark Allan and BBC Proms, whose work can be found here.
You can watch the full performance from Moses Sumney at this year’s BBC Proms on BBC iPlayer here.
The full album review of Græ can be found here.
Moses Sumney’s latest LP, Græ, is out now and can be found here.
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