JS Bach Chamber Music Hall


The JS Bach Chamber Music Hall was a temporary structure in Manchester designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, which was constructed for the Manchester International Festival in 2009. The structure was erected within a 425m2 hall inside Manchester Art Gallery, assigned to host a series of nine concerts of the solo compositions of JS Bach by international performers Piotr Anderszewski, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alina Ibragimova.

Description

The construction is a suspended ribbon of translucent, lightweight, synthetic fabric articulated by an internal steel structure with hidden internal acoustic panels. Sandy Brown Associates worked as acoustic consultants. Architects' Journal described the construction as "a striking white ribbon in a black box, wraps around itself to create a stage for the performer as well as a space for the audience".

Reception

Reaction to the work was largely positive with Anthony Tommasini commenting in The New York Times that "the space was a delight to be in and... the music sounded up-close and exceptionally vibrant." The Independent described the structure as a "perfect union of sound and space" concluding that it was a "cunning creation of seamless ingenuity providing a curiously reverential setting." The Daily Telegraph described the space as "dazzling". The Guardian however commented "whether it acoustically enhances the performance is impossible to say - one suspects the impact is visual rather than aural".

Other festivals

Following the Manchester festival, the work toured to Amsterdam in 2010 and Abu Dhabi in 2011.