Time
Dec. 28th
8.00 pm.
Tickets
120 RMB in advance
150 RMB in the door
75 RMB for children aged 3-12
FREE for children below 3
Place
F.3-B.1 the Second Avenue of Rain Town, Kunming
Bach and his music
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is widely considered to be the greatest composer of all time. He wrote an incredible amount of music and his music has exercised an immense influence on western music. In spite of this, Bach was in his own time more famous as a performing musician than as a composer.
Especially famous was his virtuoso improvisations on keyboard instruments and this also spilled over into some of his compositions: During the concert Peter Arendt will play Bach’s three great harpsichord toccatas (played on Nordica’s grand piano).
The three toccatas we will hear at the concert would in Bach’s own time have been played on a harpsichord like this, as the modern piano hadn’t been developed yet. While a piano beats the strings, a harpsichord plucks them, creating a very different sound.
“Toccata” comes from the Italian “toccare” and means to “touch”. It is a form of written down “improvisation” where the performer first “touches” the instrument in a short flourish where he tests the possibilities of the instrument and shows off his own skill. This is followed by a longer more structured main body of the piece.
In between the three toccatas we will hear a number of Bach’s most famous chorales and soprano arias, arranged specially by Peter for this concert so as to include Pipa and Erhu.
The Musicians
Betty and Peter Arendt
Danish Betty and Peter Arendt are both classically educated musicians (as soprano and organist respectively). They always have made Western classical music but have also for decades travelled around the world and made music together with musicians from many countries: Armenia, Honduras, India, Madagascar, Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, Zimbabwe, to name a few. Since the beginning they have always returned to Bach though, whose music they continue to perform at concerts, and have recorded on two CD’s.
They have been in Kunming two times before, where they have performed both Chinese and Danish music.
Zhang Yu 张羽
Zhang Yu plays a variety of instruments, but in this concert, she will focus on the Erhu – an instrument whose timbre fits Bach’s melodies wonderfully.
Sun Yuming 孙毓茗
Sun Yuming is a professional musician from Kunming, who plays Pipa. She and Zhang Yu are old friends of Betty and Peter, and have toured in Scandinavia with them several times, where they have played both Chinese and Western music together.
Skjold Arendt
As the son of Betty and Peter, Skjold has been singing since he was a toddler. In this concert he will sing the bass parts in the chorales.
Program
Toccata for Harpsichord in D-major (BWV 912) – piano (11:30’’)
(Presto)
Allegro
Adagio
(Andante)
Con discrezione
Presto
Aria from Cantata no. 36 (BWV 36,7) – soprano & piano
Air from Orchestral Suite no. 3 (BWV 1068,2) – erhu, pipa & piano
Choral from Cantata no. 1 (BWV 1,6) – soprano, basso, erhu, pipa & piano
Toccata for Harpsichord in e-minor (BWV 914) – piano (7:30’’)
(Allegro)
Un poco Allegro
Adagio
Fuga
Choral from Cantata no. 79 (BWV 79,3) – soprano, basso, erhu, pipa & piano
Choral from Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248,42) – soprano, basso, erhu, pipa & piano
– interval –
Toccata for Harpsichord in G-major (BWV 916) – piano (9:00’’)
(Allegro)
Adagio
Allegro e presto
Aria from Cantata no. 82 (BWV 82,3) – soprano & piano
Total time: approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including 10 minutes break.
