Program:
Eric Tanguy (France, b. 1968), Duo for flute and clarinet (1994) Western Hemisphere premiere
Andy Vores (UK [Wales]/US, b. 1956), Often (2003) New York premiere
Dorothy Chang (US, b. 1970), Falling Sky (2000) New York premiere
Alti Heimir Sveinsson (Iceland, b. 1938), Swedish Rapp: Rondo Fantastico II (1999) Western Hemisphere premiere
Robert Xavier Rodríguez (US, b. 1946), Música, por un tiempo (2008) New York premiere
Musicians: Nadia Kyne, flute; Sean Rice, clarinet; Sean Riley, violin; Alex Tasopoulos, viola; Mimi Yu, cello; Paul Nemeth, double bass; David Stevens, percussion; Jennifer
Chu, piano; Joel Sachs, conductor.
In the first piece, by French composer Eric Tanguy, the composer creates variations and transformations of polyphony and harmony using the same harmonic, rhythmic and melodic elements in three short and contrasting movements.
Welsh composer Andy Vores originally created the evening’s second piece, Often, to accompany a video projection about the Iraq War by artist Jessie Shefrin. The composition, like Shefrin’s video, rocks between relentless rapid events and an elegiac, pastoral atmosphere.
The title of Falling Sky by Dorothy Chang reflects the nervous energy and jagged, angular lines of this three-movement work. Falling Sky was written for the Boston ensemble Collage New Music.
In Swedish Rapp: Rondo Fantastico II, Icelandic composer Alti Heimir Sveinsson improvised melodies over an Icelandic medieval irregular dance rhythm, resulting in a composition with a playful, humorous tone.
The final piece for the evening, Robert Xavier Rodríguez’s Música, por un tiempo, combines two widely divergent musical entities: the ground bass from the song “Music, for a while” by the 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell, and the traditional Latin dance rhythm of the rumba.
New York City, NY; NYC