Charles Ives George Crumb Enno Poppe
© Enno Poppe © Harald Hoffmann.com ©
Charles Ives
Three Places in New England, for ensemble
George Crumb
Kronos-Kryptos – Four Tableaux for Percussion Quintet (French première)
Enno Poppe
Prozession, for large ensemble (French première)
Ensemble intercontemporain
Conductor, Matthias Pintscher
The Philharmonie de Paris, the Ensemble intercontemporain and the Festival d’Automne à Paris are coproducers of the concert.
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Duration: 95 minutes, plus intermission
The concert ranges from landscapes in America to the concept of a procession, crossing history, marching in New England and through the Appalachians with the mountain lights and forests, while also following a series of spiritual processions, as in the Apocalypse, through to an inner path, both individual and infinite.
The percussion quintet Kronos-Kryptos has four movements: the joyful bell-ringing of an Easter morning, the gentle and melancholy rocking of a barcarolle as water becomes music, the violence of the Apocalypse, and a final movement, cosmic and meditative, resounding with the echoes of the Appalachians. One century earlier, Charles Ives chose New England for a tribute, combining spirituals, patriotic songs and hymns. Here is a celebration of Colonel Shaw who led a colored regiment during the War of Secession, of Independence Day and of peace in nature.
Enzo Poppe’s vast work Prozession was continued and completed during lockdown in the spring of 2020. “Something happened. I had never written anything like this.” The haunting instrumental solos and duos pervade the listening experience, with punctuation from the percussion, and gradually extend time, while the melodies, coming in waves of ever-increasing intensity, culminate in dramatic chords.