The final instalment in KLASSIK underground’s concert series at Illuminate Adelaide drew an unexpected connection between the music of JS Bach and Steve Reich.

Leipzig-based Tahlia Petrosian was joined by musicians Sophie Rowell, Matthew Tomkins and Simon Cobcroft, as well as experimental filmmaker Margie Medlin in a program pairing three movements from JS Bach’s The Art of Fugue with the Steve Reich classic Different Trains.

KLASSIK underground: Different Trains at Illuminate Adelaide, 2022. Photo © Jack Fenby

For the Bach fugues, Medlin’s images featured spiral patterns – perhaps as a subtle reference to the composer’s use of the Fibonacci sequence within the work. The musicians gave a sensitive interpretation of these pieces, with tastefully restrained use of vibrato, nuanced phrasing and clearly articulated counterpoint.

Reich’s music is an excellent fit for a program designed to give the audience an immersive experience. Its repetitive patterns have a hypnotic effect and are well suited to the repeated visual elements Medlin wove throughout the performance.

Different Trains (1988) stands out from Reich’s other works for live musicians and pre-recorded tape from that period in its use of vocal samples and found sounds. As a child from...