At times, musical contemplation requires a certain detachment and an attention free from functional expectations, be they dance, entertainment, statements of identity or any others. It is never, however, a passive state. It may even be regarded as a form of daring, almost ritualistic listening, given the way it is prepared to traverse transitional territories between meanings and to experience processes of self-transformation. There is, then, room for silences, pauses, enchanting ornamentation and seemingly inconsequential gestures. This is particularly relevant to the music of Claude Debussy and Tōru Takemitsu. *Syrinx* is a short piece for solo flute which originated in 1913 as part of a play steeped in the sensual and melancholic atmosphere of the myth of Pan. In 1992, Takemitsu drew on a poem by Emily Dickinson: ‘It sounded like rain, until it bent. Then I realised it was wind.’ Finally, one of Debussy’s last three sonatas: ethereal sound textures with Eastern overtones.
Contemplativo
Sunday, 1 November, 5.00 pm, Igreja Paroquial de Santa Engrácia
Solistas da Metropolitana
C. Debussy Syrinx
T. Takemitsu And Then I Knew ‘Twas Wind
C. Debussy Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp
Nuno Inácio flute
Leonor Fleming viola
Ana Aroso harp
