Sarasa is looking forward to presenting a kaleidoscopic concert-set the weekend of November 19-21!
Our program will start off with a wonderfully energetic string symphony in C major by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the second eldest son of Johann Sebastian. C.P.E.’s glorious instrumental works mark a clear departure from the music of rhetoric, from the music of studied counterpoint and reach out with a vocabulary that is astoundingly fresh, both humorous and plangent and highly mercurial. He was a leading figure of Empfindsamkeit, or “Element of Feeling," a movement embraced and discussed at length by a new generation of romantic German writers and philosophers at the end of the eighteenth century. Linked to the development of scientific studies on the brain and the human body’s nervous system, music of this era developed a febrile quality of spirit. In the artistic sense, it strove to express the extreme sensitive emotions provoked by outside forces.
We are also presenting a rare chamber work by Rimsky-Korsakov, his ebullient string sextet in A major, which he composed early on in his musical career. Listen how Rimsky-Korsakov makes the cut with Louis Armstrong and Danny Kaye. What a fantastic performance! Thank you to our favourite pianist, Maggie Cole, for this gem.
Sarasa Ensemble and David Stern commission two brand new short works to be premiered at Kaleidoscope!
And finally, we’d like to introduce to you two young, impressive composers, Mariel Mayz and Li Qi, who will feature on our program. Each wrote a short theme and variations movement for string quartet based on a theme by David Stern. Read more about them below!
Colourful, ever changing shapes in music with youthful Rimsky-Korsakov, timeless Purcell, and the genius of CPE Bach. Including new works by Li Qi and Mariel Mayz.
Zenas Hsu, Katherine Winterstein, violins; Marka Gustavsson, Jason Fisher, violas; Timothy Merton, Jennifer Morsches, cellos
Friday, November 19, 2021 Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, Cambridge at 7.30pm
Saturday, November 20, 2021 Brattleboro Music Center, VT at 7.30pm [tickets: www.bmcvt.org]
Sunday, November 21, 2021 Follen Community Church, Lexington at 3.30pm
PROGRAM:
CPE Bach Symphony III in C major, Wq 182/3 (1773)
Henry Purcell In Nomine in 6 parts, Z. 746 (1680)
Li Qi Passing Time for String Quartet (2021)
Mariel Mayz Six Michtam for String Quartet (2021)
Intermission
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov String Sextet in A major (1876)
TICKETS: $25 General Admission; $20 Seniors; $10 Students; children under 18 free!
HEALTH AND SAFETY: Audiences at all venues must provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of the concert for entry. Masks are required at all times.
Free streaming available! For those of you who have to miss the live performances, please tune in to our website on Sunday, November 29th at 7pm. A chance to enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers with some wonderful music performed by Sarasa! Have a safe and pleasant holiday!
Tune in to WHRB 95.3 on monday, november 15th to hear sarasa featured IN an all-boccherini PROGRAM!
WHRB 95.3
Harvard Radio and Sarasa Ensemble dive in to Boccherini! Listen to The Music of Luigi Boccherini on Monday, November 15th from 7pm-10pm, including some of our favorite Sarasa Boccherini recordings and performances.
