On 22 October the Hallé premiere Colin Matthews’ latest orchestration of Ravel – Songs Without Words, conducted by Nicolas Collon at the Bridgewater Hall, with a further performance at Sheffield Town Hall on 23 October.
Matthews wrote Songs without Words to celebrate the 80th birthday of his brother David; the 6 ½-minute set reworks Les grands vents venus d'outre-mer (‘The great winds coming from overseas’) written in 1906 to a poem by Henri de Régnier, Rêves (‘Dreams’) composed in 1927 to a text by Léon-Paul Fargues, and Noel des jouets (‘The toys’ Christmas’) setting Ravel’s own words in 1905.
The first song captures the great gusts of wind from the sea with its tempestuous opening, with gestures in winds and horns redolent of La mer; the last of the set shimmers with festive enchantment, with sparkle coming from celesta, a pair of harps, glockenspiel, and flickering woodwinds. The sleepy character of the middle movement is captured by an alto flute and celesta treading out their melody on a bed of gently rocking muted strings.
Most recently, the Hallé and Principal Conductor Kahchun Wong performed Matthews’ 2016 orchestration of Ravel’s La vallée des cloche (from Miroirs) at the BBC Proms in August 2026. Matthews created his orchestrations of the complete Debussy Preludes for the orchestra and Mark Elder during his stint as Associate Composer from 2001-2010, subsequently recorded. His residency there also saw the composition of Alphabicycle Order - for children's chorus, narrator and orchestra to poems by Christopher Reid, premiered by Edward Gardner.
Matthews has also created orchestral versions of Debussy’s Images, recorded by the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Gustavo Gimeno, as well as by Elder and the Hallé. His orchestration of the second book premiered with Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra at the 2025 Aldeburgh Festival. In 2009 five of the Préludes were choreographed for the Royal Ballet by Alastair Marriott in Sensorium - a limpid neoclassical ballet celebrating one hundred years since the foundation of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes.
Matthews’ catalogue of orchestrations includes the surviving movement from Debussy’s early Symphony in B minor, two pieces from Ravel’s Miroirs, and Mahler’s Piano Quartet movement ‘Nicht zu Schnell’. He has also orchestrated songs by Gabriel Fauré for soprano and small orchestra, and a 12-minute collection of songs from across Sibelius’ career for Hannu Lintu and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.