Mistral’s 29th season concludes with Aeolian Tapestries, a richly woven program that brings together an eclectic set of chamber works for winds, strings, and harp in shifting instrumental combinations. The program features music by Saint-Saëns, Reynaldo Hahn, Valerie Coleman, and Enesco, as well as a charming nonet arrangement of André Messager’s rarely performed ballet The Two Pigeons.
The Tarantella by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, one of the great musical figures of 19th-century Paris, is a high-spirited showpiece filled with speed, sparkle, and rhythmic energy. In this arrangement for flute, clarinet, string quartet, and harp, the music becomes a lively conversation among the instruments, full of virtuosity and charm.
French composer Reynaldo Hahn is celebrated for his refined songs and his close ties to Parisian artistic life. Originally written as an art song for voice and piano, Hahn’s À Chloris is one of his most beloved melodies, known for its simplicity and lyrical beauty, and scored here for English horn, string quartet, and harp.
American composer and flutist Valerie Coleman (b. 1970), a major voice in today’s classical music world and founder of the acclaimed Imani Winds, wrote Umoja—the Swahili word for “unity.” Dynamic and rhythm-driven, the piece blends classical chamber writing with dance-like pulse and bold rhythmic drive, creating music that is both immediate and uplifting.
The Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 by Romanian composer George Enesco, one of Eastern Europe’s most important musical figures, is one of the great crowd-pleasers of the orchestral repertoire. Drawing on Romanian folk melodies and dance rhythms, this chamber arrangement preserves the work’s vivid character and building momentum, culminating in an exciting, fast-paced finale.
French composer André Messager was best known for his operettas and ballets, and for shaping musical life in Paris around the turn of the 20th century. His suite from the ballet Les Deux Pigeons is light on its feet and richly melodic, bringing the full ensemble together in a series of contrasting, dance-inspired movements in this arrangement for nonet.
From French elegance to folk-inspired excitement and modern rhythmic energy, Aeolian Tapestries offers an evening of chamber music by familiar composers in fresh settings that are by turns virtuosic, lyrical, and rhythmically charged.
Artists for this program are comprised of several core Mistral musicians—flutist Julie Scolnik, violist Stephanie Fong, violinist Irina Muresanu, and double bassist Donald Palma, as well as several dynamic guest artists from New York City: clarinetist Yasmina Speigelberg, violinist Emma Frucht and oboist Kemp Jernigan. Boston harpist Krysten Keches and French cellist Jean-Michael Fonateneau complete the roster for this exciting and varied program.
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