The February concerts of the Camerata Pacifica will feature the dual mastery of Sébastian Jacot, flute; and Irina Zahharenkova, harpsichord, performing:
Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Sonata in A Major for Flute & Obbligato Harpsichord, BWV 1032” (ca1736); Kryštof Mařatka’s “‘Melopa’ for Harpsichord” (2008); Christopher Cerrone’s “Liminal Highway for Flute and Four-Channel Electronics” (2006); Franz Josef Haydn’s “Adagio in F-Major for Keyboard, Hob.XVII:9” (1786); and André Jolivet’s “‘Chant de Linos,’ for Flute and Keyboard” (1944).
From his website we learn that “Czech composer Kryštof Mařatka (born in Prague in 1972) lives and works in Prague and Paris since 1994. The versatility which marks his artistic activities, carried out between several countries, is often considered as a strong link that he creates between the various cultural universes which he’s inspired by or which he interrogates, while discovering new ways of musical expression.”
Of his piece “Melopa” Mařatka writes: “In 2008, I had the opportunity to meet the harpsichordist Elzbieta Chojnacka, and this meeting led to the creation of Melopa, two years later.
“It was in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where I spent three days in November in a luxury apartment without heating, dominated by a great harpsichord. The icy atmosphere, the cold and the physical shudder forced me to warm myself by the only means possible: playing the harpsichord, tireless and fast, for prolonged periods.
“It is this experience that has given the work its absurd character: the ‘mélopée,’ normally a melismatic song, is transformed here into a frantic, repetitive, haunting and unpredictable gallop with a mechanical virtuosity that aspires only to flee towards warm and contemplative landscapes.”
(Those visiting Mařatka’s site may hear the amazing Zahharenkova play “Melopa” in its entirety, a stunning feat.)
On his website, the American composer, Christopher Cerrone (b.1984), writes that “‘Liminal Highway for Flute and Four-Channel Electronics (2006)’ was co-commissioned by the Miller Theatre and New Music USA. [I] had no interest in writing a simple solo flute piece but wanted to create something completely new … ‘Liminal Highway’s immersive system of electronic sampling creates the sonic illusion of far more than a single soloist, even suggesting a variety of different environments.”
In 2014, Cerrone composed an opera based on Italo Calvino’s fantastic, cosmic novel “Invisible Cities,” for the Los Angeles-based opera company The Industry, the LA Dance Project, and Sennheiser. It was very successful and had a sold-out run of performances. I loved the novel, but would have to hear the opera to believe it possible.
André Jolivet (1905-74), according to Wikipedia, “was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influences, particularly on instruments used in ancient times. He composed in a wide variety of forms for many different types of ensembles.”
Jolivet wrote “Chant de Linos” in 1944, on a commission from the Conservatoire de Paris for a competition piece. The competition that year was won by Jean-Pierre Rampal.”
This program will be played at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, in Scherr Forum, Thousand Oaks (The Jordan & Sandra Laby Series); 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, at The Huntington, in San Marino; 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, at the Colburn School, Los Angeles (The Warner Henry Family Chamber Music Series at Zipper Hall); and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at the Music Academy, in Santa Barbara.
Tickets to all venues except Thousand Oaks are $35-$75 (Thousand Oaks $40-$80). For tickets and other information, show up at the box office, call the Camerata Pacifica, 805-884-8410, email tickets@cameratapacifica.org, or go online to www.cameratapacifica.org.