La Mer

Kenneth Young conductor
Brett Painter percussion
Helen Webby harp

Farr From the Depths Sound the Great Sea Gongs
Tan Dun Water Concerto
Rautavaara Harp Concerto
Debussy La Mer

Saturday 23rd June, 7.30pm
Aurora Centre

Commissioned to write a piece to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Gareth Farr decided on a work which would display the powers of the orchestra, the music of the Pacific and his fascination with percussion music. The result is Farr at his most theatrical; a blockbuster of a work which evokes the vastness and colour of the Pacific and its many cultures.

Born in China but based in New York since the 1980s, Tan Dun is one of the most distinctive musical voices in contemporary music. His compositions ranging from opera to chamber music fuse Chinese music with contemporary avante garde to produce some of the most unforgettable music you will ever hear. Tan Dun takes you to unexplored worlds of sound and texture; worlds filled with references to Chinese ritual and ceremony. In this work he uses `amplified’ bowls of water to replace traditional percussion. CSO Principal Percussionist, Brett Painter performs as soloist in this mesmerising, contemplative experience in which East meets West.

The Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara has been described as a ``prolific’’ contemporary composer... something of an understatement to describe a man who has reshaped the way the 21st century world listens to music. Rautavaara gives the instrument a sharp contemporary voice, taking his audience into a new dimension and expanding musical boundaries. Helen Webby, Principal Harpist for the CSO will perform this exciting, provocative and inspiring piece.

The original score carried the evocative French title ``La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestra’’ or in slightly more prosaic English ``The Sea, three symphonic sketches for orchestra.’’ This composition is surely one of Debussy’s most sublime works, an impressionistic tone poem of almost overwhelming suggestion and subtlety, as one writer put it. It’s a musical painting by Monet, with colour, sparkle and marvellous tones. This is a sensuous description of the sea in all its moods, but one which never lapses into musical cliché. La Mer is a work filled with surprises and unexpected pleasures as Debussy explores the movement of the waves and the feel of the wind – so real that you can at times feel the spray on your face and the taste of salt. Here by any count is a true masterpiece.