All concerts are streamed via our YouTube channel.
This concert is free. Donations are suggested with all proceeds benefiting C4NM.
Journey from Ancient Rome to the Arctic and back with a streaming concert of new vocal and chamber music exploring stories of creation and change, from present-day melodic transformations back to Vesuvius’ volcanic fury, all the way to the origins of all things in primordial chaos. Bay Area composers Davide Verotta, Kristofer Twadell, Lukáš Janata, Monica Chew and Shawne Workman present pieces for flute and piano, guitar, string quartet, and mixed voices with Persian daf.
After the concert, meet the artists and join in celebrating new music at our Zoom-based reception. Bring your questions and a favorite beverage!
Concert streaming starts at 7:30 pm on Saturday, June 26. Revisit this page for the concert link.
Join the post-concert Zoom reception here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89081835163?pwd=VDNqN1VycTVjRlJUcFZrQ2JFM3puZz09
Program
Davide Verotta (www.davideverotta.com), Sulle Aride Pendici (On the Barren Slopes) for flute and piano takes its inspiration from “La Ginestra” (The Broom Tree), a poem written by the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi in 1836. Vesuvius, the volcano which brings destruction, dominates the entire poem. The humble ginestra lives on its aride pendici without surrendering to its force. For Leopardi the broom resembles the ideal human, who rejects any illusions about his or her place on earth and does not invoke from heaven (or nature) impossible help. Composed between April 16 and May 25, 2020, the piece and its literary theme are singularly suited to express our position with respect to nature during the 2020 CE SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. With Jennifer Peringer, piano, and Martha Rodriguez, flute.
Lukáš Janata (www.lukasjanata.cz), Laments for solo guitar. Laments is an acoustic and psychological exploration of the boundless instrument and the bounded composer (and his ideas), respectively. Using the specific D-heavy scordatura, the piece is searching for a musical meaning of a quarter-tone tuned A string in a different context in each of the movements. Laments is a work of a large scope of musical facets, primarily inspired by a contemplative mood of an introspective exploration of me appearing on the verge in my approach to aesthetics. Collaborating with a dear friend Jan Stránský, in this work, I was liberated from many deciding factors of appearance of many other works of mine; hence, I was enabled to get fascinated by this instrument and simply “get lost”….
Kristofer Twadell (www.kristwadellmusic.com/), String Quartet No. 1. This piece is an exploration of how one motif can be developed in three different moods. Recorded in 2020, this premiere features the composer’s mix of performances captured by each quartet member individually, due to the pandemic. With Idunn Lohne, violin I; Dimitri Murrath, violin II, Alexandra Simpson, viola; and Chloe Mendola, cello.
Monica Chew (monicachew.com), Ice Calf for solo piano. A walrus makes a journey.
Shawne Anell Workman (saworkman.com), Metamorphoses: The Creation for 6 voices and Persian daf. Original artwork and song exploring the creation of the world from primordial chaos through the appearance of humankind, as told by the Roman poet Ovid. With Kristofer Twadell and Mia Lingberg, soprano; Rowan Taymuree, alto; Michael R. Smith, tenor; Brennan Stokes, tenor; Lukáš Janata, bass; and Nasim Gorgani, daf. Artwork by Simone Ren.
