We are delighted to be joined by some talented Sydney artists for our next concert on Saturday 28th June, 1:30pm at the Glebe Justice Centre. Owen Torr (harp), Alex Fontaine (oboe), Vanessa Tammetta (violin), Ella Brinch (viola), and members of Sirius Chamber Ensemble present a concert of French music for woodwinds, strings, harp and piano.
View of the Canal Saint-Martin, Paris, oil on canvas by Alfred Sisley, 1870; in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
The Magic of Paris will explore music composed and premiered in the French capital between 1876 and 2012. Central to the program is music by early twentieth century impressionist composers, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy.
The Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet was hastily written by Ravel in 1905 and first performed in Paris in 1907. The commission came from Érard, maker of harps and pianos, to promote the newly crafted double action pedal harp. As such, the harp plays a dominant role in this septet.
Claude Debussy wrote the Sonata for flute, viola and harp in 1915 while suffering a terminal illness. Planned as one of six sonatas for various combinations of instruments, only three works of the cycle were completed before the composer’s death in 1918.
Moving to French music of the present day Guillaume Connessonhas been described as… incontestably the most gifted, demanded and versatile composer of his generation in France today – La Terrasse, Jean Lukas, 2003. Disco Toccata for clarinet and cello, written in 1994, is a modern interpretation of the Baroque form, usually a keyboard piece. The Adams Variations for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (pub. 2011) is a set of six variations based on the letters of American minimalist composer, John Adams.
The program also includes Elegie for cello and piano (1880) by Gabriel Fauré and Quintette in G minor for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn (1876) by Claude-Paul Taffanel.
Sirius Chamber Ensemble
Ian Sykes (clarinet)
Alison Evans (bassoon)
Melissa Coleman (flute)
Julia Zeltzer (french horn)
Martyn Hentschel (violin)
Georgina Price (viola)
Clare Kahn (cello)
Claire Howard Race (piano)
When: Saturday 28th June, 1.30pm
Where: Glebe Justice Centre (formerly Glebe Café Church Space), corner St John’s Rd and Colbourne Ave, Glebe.
Tickets: $30/$20/$10 available at www.classikon.com or at the door
Enquiries: sirius.ensemble@gmail.com
