BCMS at Hotel Leo: Evocative
Our November program, “Evocative”, boasts all that is great about chamber music from the light and delicate overtures to the shadowy and intense grand gestures. We begin with Caroline Boissier-Butini’s Divertissement and Rondo for clarinet, bassoon and piano; a little amuse-bouche that will make you smile and giggle. Following will be Carlos Simon’s encouraging Be Still and Know for violin, cello and piano, based on a quote from Oprah Winfrey.
The first half culminates in a performance of Maurice Ravel’s haunting Chansons Madécasses for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello and piano. Ravel's composition sets exotic art songs with texts by Évariste de Parny that express sensuousness, anti-colonialist/anti-slavery sentiments, and the simplicity of stillness.
Rita Strohl’s tour-de-force work, Grande Fantasie-Quintette for string quartet and piano, will close our program. Composed when she was only 20 years old, this work boasts a standard 19th century character with rich texture, bold themes and long Romantic bravura.
