Bryce Dessner

Murder Ballades by composer and guitarist Bryce Dessner was inspired by folk songs about real and imagined killings from America’s early settlement. Dessner takes the song’s melodic material as a starting point, wrapping it in evocative accompaniments to create a highly charged atmosphere. With the use of inside piano techniques, wailing string glissandos, stamping chords and other effects, he crafts a wonderfully imaginative sound palette. Brushy Fork, a Civil War fiddle tune, brought the house down with its driving rhythm and foot-stomping jollity.

Murder Ballads from 'star of the New York City Ballet' Justin Peck accompanied by music from Bryce Dessner, composer and guitarist known for his work in rock band The National, is easy on the eye and ear, a mix of old and new. American folk tradition replicated in modern style- Agnes de Mille, Aaron Copland, wide-open Oklahoma prairie lands occupy my imagination.

Bryce Dessner's fascinating score is based on American ballads about murder, and I saw choreography of buoyant energy, with gesture sweetly and skilfully set within movement, which sailed along with its music, lived in it, and engaged its cast in actions that sat happily, flatteringly on their bodies, and bothered not at all with a carrier-pigeon task as "messenger".