In their November concerts, Camerata Pacifica’s principal percussionist, Ji Hye Jung teams with pianist Soyeon Kate Lee to present a 21st-century program with roamntic interludes. Together or solo, the pair will perform:
Emma O’Halloran‘s “How Sweet the Thought of You as Infinite” (2019); Caroline Shaw‘s “Gustave Le Gray” (2012); Sergei Rachmaninov‘s “Corelli Variations” (1931); Joseph Schwantner‘s “Velocities (Moto Perpetuo) for solo marimba” (1990); Frédéric Chopin’s “Mazurka in a-minor, Opus 17, No. 4″ (1833); and Christopher Cerrone‘s “Double Happiness” (2012).
O’Halloran is a contemporary Irish composer of great and subtle gifts. Her music strikes no poses and makes no case; it simply is. On top of which, “How Sweet the Thought of You as Infinite” is a ravishing title (for a lovely piece).
Shaw’s “Gustave Le Gray” continues her irresistible progress toward the center of the tiny group of young composers whose music will still be heard 10 or 20 years from now. So far, her variety has proven all but infinite.
Someday, I may be familiar enough with her oeuvre to be able to hear a new work and say, “Ah, Caroline Shaw!” but she will always be able to surprise me.
Rachmaninov composed the “Corelli Variations” — his last work for solo piano — in 1931, and dedicated the composition to his friend, the violinist Fritz Kreisler. In December of that year, he wrote to another pal, the composer Nikolai Medtner:
“I’ve played the Variations about fifteen times, but of these fifteen performances only one was good. The others were sloppy. I can’t play my own compositions! And it’s so boring! Not once have I played these all in continuity. I was guided by the coughing of the audience.
“Whenever the coughing would increase, I would skip the next variation. Whenever there was no coughing, I would play them in proper order. In one concert, I don’t remember where — some small town — the coughing was so violent that I played only ten variations (out of 20).
“My best record was set in New York, where I played 18 variations. However, I hope that you will play all of them, and won’t ‘cough’.”
Although the theme comes from Arcangelo Corelli’s “Sonata for violin and continuo in d-minor, Opus 5, No. 12,” the theme itself was not written by Corelli, but is the melody of a quintessentially Spanish dance called “La Folia.”
Many seventeenth century composers wrote variations on it, including Marin-Marais and Henry Purcell. Later, Franz Liszt used it in his “Rhapsodie Espagnole.” Much, much later, in 1982, the Spanish composer Eduardo Paniagua wrote a set of 12 … not variations, exactly, but simply variants, in his piece “La Folia de la Spagna.”
In James Ivory’s film, “Jefferson in Paris,” Jefferson (Nick Nolte) keeps trying to play the Corelli on his violin.
Schwantner’s “Velocities” is aptly subtitled “(Molto Perpetuo),” for it careens along in a pleasant, helter-skelter sort of way, seemingly hitting every note of which the marimba is capable, without the composer ever losing control.
Chopin remains Chopin, his “Mazurka” is as appropriate to this program as it would be to any program, anywhere, from now until the end of time.
Cerrone’s “Double Happiness” is formal and precise, adagio in spirit, even when it seems to be gaining speed. The music draws us on, even though it doesn’t progress.
This program will be played at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 in the Museum of Ventura County in Ventura; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15 in The Huntington Museum in San Marino; 8 pm. Thursday, Nov. 17 in Zipper Hall at the Colburn School in Los Angeles; and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, in Fleischmann Hall of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (while Hahn Hall is undergoing remodeling).
Admission to all venues is $68. For tickets and other information, show up at the box office, call the Camerata Pacifica at 805-884-8410, email tickets@cameratapacifica.org, or visit www.cameratapacifica.org.
— Gerald Carpenter covers the arts as a Noozhawk contributing writer. He can be reached at gerald.carpenter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are his own.