Sheng Song: Canzon’s Adventure
Frédéric Chopin: Valse brillante in A-flat Major, Opus 34, No. 2
Max von Weinzierl: Nachtstuck für 4 Violen, Opus 34
Ludwig von Beethoven: Trio in C Major, Opus 87 — Adagio
Jean-Pierre Peuvion: From the diary of a fly for three violas (Bela Bartok)
Hendrik Waelput: Andante cantabile for 4 violas
York Bowen: Fantasia for 4 violas in E Minor, Opus 41, No. 1
Joseph Jongen: Deux pièces pour 4 altos: Légende et Danses
Noémie Alriau-Gauguier: Viola
Camille Coelo: Viola
Ruixin Niu: Viola
Pierre-Henri Xuereb: Viola
In France, June 21 has been known not only as the date of the summer solstice, but also as the date of the Fête de la musique since 1982 owing to the initiative of Jack Lang, the indefatigable minister of Culture back then, and Maurice Fleuret, his equally ambitious director of music, whose simple but bold idea was to have all kinds of music played in all kinds of places on the longest day and the shortest night of the year. Other countries soon followed suit, and before long, many cities in many countries celebrated World Music Day.
In Dieulefit, while reviewing the various options, I immediately noticed an all-viola concert involving no less than four violists spanning four generations. Moreover, it was organized by the two mighty local forces that are Comps Historique and Pradel Association, which is always a good sign, and would take place in the stunning little Romanesque church in nearby Comps at the totally civilized time of 7:00 PM. What more could we ask for? Well, slightly lower temperatures would have been nice, but we were not going to let heat wave hysteria spoil our fun anyway.
When D-Day came around, it started very early for me as an impertinent bird insisted on serenading me outside my window starting at about 4:00 AM, maybe to make sure I would make the most of that special day. And I did. After a busy morning helping my mom with her never-ending move (Two years and counting) and a relaxed afternoon prudently spent indoors, we resolutely made our way to the wind-swept hill on which the church still proudly stood to join some friends and other music lovers for the sold-out performance.
We started our foray into the interestingly esoteric program in Venice, Italy, of all places, with “Canzon a quattro”, a short but lovely Baroque composition by Lodovico Beretta, before jumping forward a few centuries and becoming fast acquainted with the definitely more modern vibes of “Canzon’s Adventure” by contemporary Chinese composer Sheng Song. Contrasts seemed to be the name of the game, and we were totally into it.
Next, we entered much more familiar territory with a viola version of Frédéric Chopin’s Valse brillante in A-flat Major, which gave us an opportunity to happily bask in 19th-century French Romanticism. Same period, same genre, but different locale, Austrian Max von Weinzierl’s Nachtstuck für 4 Violen, Opus 34, stood out for its length and complexity, engaging lyricism and genuine warmth. In fact, a bird apparently nesting in the church’s dome (Or was it my morning suitor that was stalking me?) was not even able to refrain from loudly expressing his whole-hearted approval.
A small detour to Germany one century earlier brought us to Ludwig von Beethoven, who obviously needed no introduction. The viola version of the Adagio from his Trio in C Major, Opus 87, originally written for two oboes and an English horn, proved again the timeless appeal of masterworks, even with the smaller ensemble of three violas.
In the 20th century, Hungarian composer Bela Bartok came up with Mikrokosmos, a vast collection of exercises for piano that increase in difficulty as the student progresses. On Sunday, we heard Jean-Pierre Peuvion’s version of “From the diary of a fly”, which was eerily evocative of the restless movements and non-stop energy of a fly. The unfazed musicians overcame the challenge deftly, which was no small feat considering that they had to put up with heat and… flies.
We went back to the 19th century for a quick but very pleasant Andante Cantabile for 4 violas by Flemish composer, conductor and educator Hendrik Waelput, before moving to early 20th-century English composer, pianist and viola lover York Bowen and his Fantasia for 4 violas in E Minor, Opus 41, No. 1. Written specifically for four violas, it turned out to be delightfully eclectic, highly interactive, and all-around very exciting, and was rightfully a big hit.
The performance wrapped up with a resounding bang thanks to not one but two pieces by Joseph Jongen, a 20th-century Belgian organist, pianist, composer, conductor, educator and, last but not least, César Franck’s student, a student who, according to Pierre-Henri Xuereb, eventually surpassed the master in talent, but, unfairly enough, not fame. It would have been hard for us to argue as we listened to his two pieces for 4 violas, “Legend” and “Dances”, which the four violists played with blazing virtuosity and infectious enthusiasm.
So much so, in fact, that for the loudly requested encore, the fired-up ensemble treated us to the last bars of the joyful “Dances” number again, which instantaneously lifted our spirits up again. Even better, as we were stepping outside, a slightly refreshing breeze was welcoming us back to summertime reality.
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