Bonjour,
On Friday, May 22 and again on Sunday, May 24 at 2 pm, we will be performing
works of a composer I must confess to having no prior knowledge of, save
for a short, well worn piece that we've played for years as light
entertainment. There was something alluring about this simple piece that has
long suggested an investigation. And in researching for this concert, we have
uncovered some fantastic pieces that we will be very excited to share with
you.
For those interested, I would like to introduce you to the feature piece of our
Chateau Pierné program, the Violin Sonata Op. 36. This is an exquisite
work, swimming in beautiful sonorities, full of energy, thoroughly French, and
deserves to be rediscovered and held among the best of late-romantic literature.
We are busy studying this work, learning the intricacies and technical demands,
with the goal of bringing it to life to its fullest. That involves hours of
practice, listening and rehearsal. It's very rarely performed and heard, and it
is most likely that you, our audience will be completely unfamiliar with it.
Sometimes we find ourselves with music that seems unending, and then there is
music like our feature Sonata that one wishes would never end. However, .
. .
Like any great wine, it needs to be exposed, given air and allowed to
breathe for the best experience.
A recording is available for you to listen to, free through your computer. The
violinist is Marianne Piketty and Pianist, Laurent Cabasso on the French Label,
Maguelone. These recordings are surely available through special order on
Amazon.com or the like. You will find no recordings of Pierné in either
Jefferson nor Kitsap county libraries.
I invite you to try these out and see how a little advance familiarity with our
feature will enhance your live concert experience. Suggestion, listen
through these movements casually as you wish, but also find a comfortable
time to relax, with nothing else going on, perhaps with a deep glass of
Cabernet Franc, and enjoy a concentrated listening .
Note: a box will appear in the upper right of the screen with a play button
(circle with right pointing triangle) left click on this button and the music
should play a few moments later (computer sound system needs to be turned on)
Movement
1: http://www.last.fm/music/Marianne+Piketty%2C+Laurent+Cabasso/Lekeu%253A%2BSonate%2Bpour%2Bviolon%2Bet%2Bpiano%2Ben%2BSol%2BMajeur%2B%2526%2BPiern%25C3%25A9%253A%2BSonate%2Bpour%2Bvoilon%2Bet%2Bpiano%2BOp.%2B36%252C%2BFantaisie%2Bbasque%2BOp.%2B49/Sonate+pour+violon+et+piano+Op.+36%3A+I.+Allegretto
Movement 2: http://www.last.fm/music/Marianne+Piketty%2C+Laurent+Cabasso/Lekeu%253A%2BSonate%2Bpour%2Bviolon%2Bet%2Bpiano%2Ben%2BSol%2BMajeur%2B%2526%2BPiern%25C3%25A9%253A%2BSonate%2Bpour%2Bvoilon%2Bet%2Bpiano%2BOp.%2B36%252C%2BFantaisie%2Bbasque%2BOp.%2B49/Sonate+pour+violon+et+piano+Op.+36%3A+II.+Allegretto+tranquillo
Movement 3: http://www.last.fm/music/Marianne+Piketty%2C+Laurent+Cabasso/Lekeu%253A%2BSonate%2Bpour%2Bviolon%2Bet%2Bpiano%2Ben%2BSol%2BMajeur%2B%2526%2BPiern%25C3%25A9%253A%2BSonate%2Bpour%2Bvoilon%2Bet%2Bpiano%2BOp.%2B36%252C%2BFantaisie%2Bbasque%2BOp.%2B49/Sonate+pour+violon+et+piano+Op.+36%3A+III.+Andante+non+troppo+-+Allegro+un+poco+agitato
For those wishing to see what
the score looks like, it is fully in the public domain, and I have posted it on
the International Music Score Library Project (www.IMSLP.org) for download.
Follow this link to download the Pdf file for viewing while you listen:
http://imslp.org/wiki/Violin_Sonata%2C_Op.36_(Piern%C3%A9%2C_Gabriel)
Another
item I wish to offer that I find quite informative is this lengthy article on
Pierné and his music, “Of Church and Circus” a 2002 article published in the
Musical Times by Marc Wood. There is quite an extensive discussion of the Op.
36 sonata along with the Impressions de Music-Hall (also on our program), transcribed for violin/piano duo by Samuel
Dushkin (himself an interesting topic for a future program).
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3870/is_200204/ai_n9071875/?tag=content;col1
The
internet and technology of today allows us to enjoy quite a renaissance in the
world of classical music, and we are happy to share this with you.
Details of our May 22 and 24
concerts can be found on the Oystrs web page www.mnstate.edu/rawson/oystrs
Please call or
send an email to make a
reservation ($20/seat by advanced paid reservation).
We hope you can join us for this exciting event, and I again invite you to try
our listening-study project.
Au revoir,
Alan