A program of chamber music for violin, clarinet and piano will be presented at this week’s Oasis of Music, beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston.
Performers Mary Hunter, Rose Pruiksma and James Parakilas will present the following:
Darius Milhaud, Suite (1937)
Pauline Viardot, La Beauté (Mazurka of Chopin)
Aram Khachaturian, Trio (1932): Finale
Astor Piazzolla, Milonga del Ángel
The Milhaud is a suite of incidental music that he composed for the original production of Jean Anouilh’s play “Le Voyageur sans Bagage.”
Viardot, a great French mezzo-soprano, turned several piano mazurkas by her friend Fryderyk Chopin into vocal numbers; this is one she turned into a duet for two high voices, creating vocal lines that lend themselves beautifully to being played by violin and clarinet.
The Khachaturian is a haunting folk-like tune that undergoes remarkable transformations.
The milonga, a dance genre from Montevideo, was originally livelier than the tango, but has come to resemble it in style. The Milonga del Ángel, like much of Piazzolla’s music, has been arranged for any number of instrumental combinations; the version to be heard on this program is by Joseph Henderson.
Admission to the Oasis of Music is free, with donations accepted. The concerts are held in the downstairs chapel. For more information, call 207-344-3106.
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