Presenting

Back in Lisbon

A festivity for Polyhymnia, Muse of Sacred Hymns, Meditation, & Geometry

In the form of a trumpet recital by Rudolf Kamper

On the last day of Artsaha, on the 10th day of September

At four o’clock in the afternoon

In which he will perform:

 

Rudolf Kämper, Baltasar & Blimunda episode IV

Reece Dano, Artifact*

Toru Takemitsu, Paths

Petr Eben, “Green”, from Windows

Allan Hovhaness, Prayer of Saint Gregory

*world premiere

 

With the indispensable aid of:

 

Mark Barnette, tuba

Stephen Bouma, organ

John Ellison, accordion

Darci Griffith, oboe

Marcia Kamper, flute

John Klinghammer, bass clarinet

Tomm Roland, marimba

 

And of which he would like to say:

 

The order and cadence of the works on this afternoon’s program is reminiscent of a worship service. There are no specific messages or definite rules to learn from this service. The music is meditative and questioning to allow a personal spiritual reflection. I have chosen works which are derived from ancient religious music, or music that recalls the spirit of those works.

 

As you enter the sanctuary you will hear music from my Baltasar and Blimunda IV, In Lisbon. These chords are based off of a central chorale I wrote to represent the spiritual and transcendent ideas in the larger work. This is part of a larger body of works written in reflection of Jose Saramago’s book of the same name. Eventually the trumpet comments on this music and the organ expounds further. We will build on this chorale several times throughout the service.

 

Reece Dano’s Artifact is the sonic representation of the composer’s own consideration of a Landini cadence. A modified version of this chant appears to startle the performer and disrupt his or her interpretation of the work. After this interruption you can hear the Landini cadence spinning around in the composer’s head and eventually joining in a mournful prayer at the end.

 

Petr Eben’s “Green” is from a series of works, each describing a color in Chagall’s famous windows in the Fraumünster church in Zurich. — Rudolf Kamper