Hear the Trans-Atlantic Ensemble evoke the cool, crisp air of the autumn season with four vivid works themed around landscapes.

Music has long had the power to evoke a sense of place, a feeling of being in an imaginary landscape which deepens and develops across time. Embracing the autumnal season, The Trans-Atlantic Ensemble presents four works by American and Scandinavian composers which conjure extraordinary visions before the listener.

Steven Stucky’s atmospheric Ad Parnassum was inspired by a mosaic-like painting of Paul Klee, layering tiny sounds until they reveal a powerful sense of forward momentum.

Wind whistling past the coast of Jutland informed the writing of Bent Sørensen’s The Deserted Churchyards, with the sounds of waves, seagulls, and church bells swirling around the listener.

Now famous for his more recent works like Schnee and let me tell you, Hans Abrahamsen’s 1978 Winternacht shows a young composer already displaying a unique gift for creating musical images. These four short movements look outward from the world of music to poets and artists such as M.C. Escher and Georg Trakl.

Finally, we will perform Sibelius’s famous En Saga (A Saga) as you’ve never heard it before in an intimate chamber arrangement. While Sibelius never revealed if his piece had a specific story, it nevertheless hints at a dark and wintry epic tale.

Program:

Steven Stucky: Ad Parnassum (1998) 10’

Bent Sørensen: The Deserted Churchyards (1990) 8’

Hans Abrahamsen: Winternacht (1978) 12’

– Interval –

Jean Sibelius: En Saga (1892 version) arr. for septet by Gregory Barrett 22’

Players:

Rosie Bowker – Flute

Méline Le Calvez – Clarinet

Cornet – Lucas Houldcroft

Horn – Alexei Watkins

Percussion – James Larter

Piano – Alexander Ullman

Laura Custodio-Sabas – Violin

Anna Brown – Violin

Dominic Stokes – Viola

Cecilia Bignall – Cello

Cécile-Laure Kouassi – Double Bass

Conductor: Michael Small

Artistic Directors: Philip Dutton & Michael Small

Description supplied by the event organiser.