Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

OPEN FOR’m is an immersion, an encounter, a multi-dimensional experience.  The Callithumpian Consort focuses on a single piece of music in a free-form event made of equal parts teach-in, demonstration, free-form discussion, open rehearsal, Q and A session, pre-concert lecture, and post-concert reception.  Sit next to and among the performers; experience the music, its history, challenges and beauties from the inside of the group!

Tonight’s concert is an encounter with the music of NEC alumnus Lei Liang ’96, ’98 M.M.  This evening will include experiences with the following pieces:

Brush Stroke (2004)
Aural Hypothesis (2010)
Bamboo Lights (2013)
Parts for a Floating Space (2001)

OPEN FOR’m will continue with a concert at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on February 21st — the very next night — that will include the premiere of Bamboo Lights by Lei Liang, one of several Callithumpian Consort premieres scheduled for the Gardner Museum in 2013.

(photo of Tristan Murail by E. Schneider)

Happy September!  We’re off to a hefty start this season, kicking off with Tristan Murail‘s Le Lac, Steve Reich‘s Sextet, and Lei Liang‘s Aural Hypothesis on Wednesday, September 14th in Jordan Hall.

This past summer, we were thrilled to have French composer Tristan Murail in residence here in Boston at our annual Sick Puppy (SICPP: Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice) festival, where we performed a large array of his music, including the world premiere of Lachrymae (2011) as well as our first performance of Le Lac (2001).  Murail describes this work (scored for an ensemble of 19) as being inspired by the emergent and ephemeral layers he experienced at a lake to the north of New York City.  “Every day, every hour, the lake has a different light, a new mood. It is ever present but ever changing, reflecting and magnifying the incessant movement of the seasons and climates.” (tristanmurail.com)

Steve Reich‘s Sextet (1985) is written for percussion and keyboards: a shifting exploration of melody and harmony, at times revealing itself as foreground, then melting into the background (and back again).  Without a doubt, Sextet is a work of utmost focus, with its cyclic weaving of rhythm and patterns lasting just under half an hour.

Chinese-born American composer Lei Liang brings us Aural Hypothesis (2010), scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and vibraphone.  In the approximately eleven minutes that elapse, quiet and intimate sounds suddenly rush into a saturated storm, making its exit with glissandi and staccati carving and punctuating an elusive sonic texture.  A beautiful work, not to be missed live.

These three works — Le Lac, Sextet, and Aural Hypothesis — are guaranteed to blow you away into new musical worlds.  What better way to start the season?  Come join us on Wednesday, September 14th at 8pm in Jordan Hall and share this experience with us.

– your friendly webbottress.