SPONSORED BY
Winky Dowdle
Ruth Weil
Rob Weil
Winky Dowdle
Ruth Weil
Rob Weil
CLEFWORKS AT THE ASCENSION
Sunday July 29, 2007 • 6:00 p.m.
Church of the Ascension
Open to the public; reception following performance
· J.S. Bach: Chaconne, arr. 2 cellos
· Astor Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango
· Samuel Barber: Adagio for strings, arr. 4 cellos
· Franz Schubert: Quartet in D Minor, “Death and the Maiden”
In this performance that will be open to the public, ClefWorks presents a sampling of music that will be featured in the ticketed series concerts later in the week. We would like to thank the Church of the Ascension for their generosity in hosting this concert as well as the reception immediately following.
The four pieces on evening’s program divide evenly into two pairs: two duos and two quartets. In many ways, the life and music of J.S. Bach herald the beginning of modern western music, and so it is never a bad idea to begin a concert with Bach. In this case, we will enjoy a special arrangement of his Chaconne, originally composed for a single violin, here performed by brothers Hrant and Kevork Parsamian.
The second duo comes from a rather different musical world than Bach’s 18th-century Lutheran harmonies. Born in 1921, Astor Piazzolla studied composition in France before returning to Argentina, where he became a world-renowned composer and performer of what he called “Nuevo tango,” his own personal mixture of traditional tango music, Baroque compositional techniques, and the free performance practice of jazz and blues. His Histoire du Tango is a series of movements that aim to evoke the atmosphere of both a particular place and a period in the evolution of the tango: Café 1900, Bordel 1930 and so on.
The first quartet on our program is the rather unusual combination of four cellos. ClefWorks is proud to have the opportunity to showcase four cellists of such outstanding quality together on the same stage. Tonight they combine their talents in an arrangement of the “Adagio for Strings.” This haunting music began life as the second movement of Barber’s string quartet and has since become more well-known as a piece in its own right.
And the finale of tonight’s program is the last movement of the Quartet in D minor by Franz Schubert, known more commonly as the “Death and the Maiden” quartet. This quartet, in its entirety, will be the opening piece performed on the first of ClefWorks’ three evening concerts, Thursday August 2nd at the RSA Activity Center. It seems appropriate, then, to bring tonight’s program to a close with the same piece that will begin our evening series performances just a few nights later.
Sunday July 29, 2007 • 6:00 p.m.
Church of the Ascension
Open to the public; reception following performance
· J.S. Bach: Chaconne, arr. 2 cellos
· Astor Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango
· Samuel Barber: Adagio for strings, arr. 4 cellos
· Franz Schubert: Quartet in D Minor, “Death and the Maiden”
In this performance that will be open to the public, ClefWorks presents a sampling of music that will be featured in the ticketed series concerts later in the week. We would like to thank the Church of the Ascension for their generosity in hosting this concert as well as the reception immediately following.
The four pieces on evening’s program divide evenly into two pairs: two duos and two quartets. In many ways, the life and music of J.S. Bach herald the beginning of modern western music, and so it is never a bad idea to begin a concert with Bach. In this case, we will enjoy a special arrangement of his Chaconne, originally composed for a single violin, here performed by brothers Hrant and Kevork Parsamian.
The second duo comes from a rather different musical world than Bach’s 18th-century Lutheran harmonies. Born in 1921, Astor Piazzolla studied composition in France before returning to Argentina, where he became a world-renowned composer and performer of what he called “Nuevo tango,” his own personal mixture of traditional tango music, Baroque compositional techniques, and the free performance practice of jazz and blues. His Histoire du Tango is a series of movements that aim to evoke the atmosphere of both a particular place and a period in the evolution of the tango: Café 1900, Bordel 1930 and so on.
The first quartet on our program is the rather unusual combination of four cellos. ClefWorks is proud to have the opportunity to showcase four cellists of such outstanding quality together on the same stage. Tonight they combine their talents in an arrangement of the “Adagio for Strings.” This haunting music began life as the second movement of Barber’s string quartet and has since become more well-known as a piece in its own right.
And the finale of tonight’s program is the last movement of the Quartet in D minor by Franz Schubert, known more commonly as the “Death and the Maiden” quartet. This quartet, in its entirety, will be the opening piece performed on the first of ClefWorks’ three evening concerts, Thursday August 2nd at the RSA Activity Center. It seems appropriate, then, to bring tonight’s program to a close with the same piece that will begin our evening series performances just a few nights later.