As part of the Music is… Festival in Prague, the Percussions de Strasbourg are presenting a customised programme of repertoire pieces combining experimentation with the group’s signature pieces.
Programme
Miroslav Kabeláč, Eight Ricercari (1976)
Ondřej Adamek, Fishbones (2007)
Iannis Xenakis, Rebonds A and B (1988)
Miroslav Kabeláč, Eight Inventions (1965)
Details of the pieces
Kabelac, Eight Ricercari (1976)
The Eight Ricercari for percussion instruments, Op. 51, were written in 1976. This composition sketches out eight raw and mysterious motifs with a strong musical identity. Two solos, among the first in the percussion repertoire, characterise this research into sound and space. The graphic writing of the score contributes to the musical experimentation of the Huit Ricercari.
Adamek, Fishbones (2007)
‘The sliding sounds carry a certain nostalgia, solitude, anxiety… they resemble the human voice! The percussion instruments immersed in the water drown us in an aquatic sound that gradually transforms into a metallic howl. The cynical idea of the life cycle of fish came to me while I was working on this piece, a life that begins by hatching freely in the ocean and ends in the pressure of tin cans’.
Xenakis, Rebonds A and B (1988)
Iannis Xenakis is an artist whose history is intimately linked to that of the Percussions de Strasbourg. From the solo (Psappha, Rebonds) to the sextet (Persephassa, Pléiades), the exploration of percussion is emblematic of the work of Iannis Xenakis, in particular through two axes: the work on rhythm and the gestural character of the instrumentalist. Rebonds (1987-88) is divided into two main sections, A and B, distinguished by the difference in the instruments used. While the first is characterised by an irregular structure that creates a sensation of perpetual movement, the second is based on a regular bongo that is broken up by accentuations.
Kabelac, Eight Inventions (1965)
Corale – Giubiloso – Recitativo – Scherzo – Lamentoso – Danza – Aria – Diabolico
The Eight Inventions for percussion instruments, Op. 45, were written in 1965 at the request of the Percussions de Strasbourg. This composition is the culmination of the composer’s interest in percussion instruments and in oriental music, which had already manifested itself in many of his earlier works. Each of the Eight Inventions has its own expression and atmosphere, determined by the choice of sound material and its organisation. Miloslav Kabeláč models his musical content by exhausting all the possibilities of unconventional treatment of melody, rhythm and sound.
melody, rhythm and timbre. Some of the Inventions are freely inspired by Gregorian Chant (Corale), then by the music of the islands of the Pacific Ocean (Lamentoso) and dodecaphony (Aria). Others are colourful sound studies (Giubiloso) or rhythmic studies (Scherzo, Danza, Diabolico), or finally a transposition of vocal melody into the realm of skin percussion instruments (Recitativo).
⏰ Concert at 7:30pm.
🎫 Tickets and info here.