Mar 4 | Vox Clamantis and Jean-Claude Pennetier “Via Crucis”

Liszt
“Pater noster” from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S173*

Gregorian chant
Christus factus est

Liszt
Prelude after a theme from Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen by J.S. Bach, S179*

Gregorian chant
Vexilla regis

Liszt
Via crucis
Jean-Claude Pennetier piano

*solo piano

“Time is something concrete, but music is freer. 1,500 years in music is nothing at all.”
—Jaan-Eik Tulve on Gregorian chant
“The level of artistry necessary to achieve this kind of living, breathing performance is a rarity.” ★★★★★ BBC Music Magazine

“Profound and moving” The New York Times

“A mystical experience” Diapason

“Impeccably pure and beautiful, and subtly different each time” Manchester Evening Post

INTRODUCTION

Vox Clamantis fills every venue in which it performs with a distinctive, rounded, captivating sound. This Estonian vocal ensemble is acclaimed for its authentic interpretations of Gregorian chant and medieval plainsong (considered to be a foundation of Western art music), while cleverly interweaving them with vocal masterpieces of the 19th century and modern era.

Artistic director and conductor Jaan-Eik Tulve founded Vox Clamantis in 1996 after the completion of his studies in Paris, and the ensemble has enjoyed great success, especially in early sacred music. Today, Vox Clamantis’ eloquent voice encompasses not only early music but also includes inspiring dialogue with contemporary music, such as the compositions of compatriot Arvo Pärt. The ensemble has received international recognition including a 2014 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance (Pärt’s Adam’s Lament) and two Diapasons d’Or (Liszt’s Via Crucis in 2013 and Pärt’s The Deer’s Cry in 2017).

The first of Vox Clamantis’ two festival concerts features Gregorian chant with sacred music by medieval composer Guillaume de Machaut alongside 20th century French masters Duruflé, Poulenc and Messiaen.

The centrepiece of the ensemble’s second programme is Via crucis; one of Franz Liszt’s boldest and most original works, taking inspiration from chant and Lutheran chorales. Breaking from the past with modern harmonies which heralded a move towards atonality, the work represented a new form of religious music at the time but is rarely performed today. The sparse, beautiful vocals of Vox Clamantis combine with multi-award winning pianist Jean-Claude Pennetier (himself an ordained Orthodox minister) to illuminate this solemn and spiritual meditation on the Way of the Cross.

PROGRAMME

Mar 3 | Vox Clamantis “O Sacrum Convivium”

Duruflé
Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens, Op 1*

Machaut
Le lai de Nostre Dame

Poulenc
Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence, FP97*

Messiaen
O sacrum convivium

*with Gregorian antiphons and responses

One of the most respected French pianists throughout a music career spanning 50 years, Jean-Claude Pennetier captivates audiences not only through his fine technique and clear-sighted playing, but also the intimate and poetic universe that he creates. Soloist, chamber musician, composer, conductor and distinguished teacher, the multi-faceted Pennetier began his piano studies at three years of age. At 18 he won first prize at the Gabriel Fauré Competition and by 25 had taken top honours at the international piano competitions of Montreal and Geneva. He plays with the world’s most distinguished orchestras including the Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre de Paris and NHK in Tokyo, with chamber groups such as Ensemble Intercontemporain and at the great music festivals of Le Roque-d’Anthéron, Prades among others.

“The language of Baroque music is very close to my personality – it gives you a chance to improvise, to become composer in a sense. This music is in my soul, in my body. I just have to be myself.”
—Dmitry Sinkovsky
“[Dmitry Sinkovsky] Electrifying virtuoso… This is how to perform baroque music.” The New York Times

“Stylish and most importantly, heartfelt” ★★★★★ BBC Music Magazine

“Music with all-encompassing theatricality” Les Echos

“Pure splendour and bliss” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

INTRODUCTION

Belgium, Beyond, Baroque, Be Rock… It’s all in the name. Founded in 2005 in the Belgian city of Ghent, B’Rock Orchestra is a baroque orchestra for the here and now, energising the sometimes overly-sober world of early music.

Combining established favourites with lesser-known works from the period, B’Rock’s HKAF concert typifies their zest and enthusiasm. Featured in this Sounding Stories programme are Vivaldi and a number of his contemporaries, composers who painted with music. Their pictures evoke a huge range of emotions and images from the most serene to the humorous and basic: a bittersweet night evoked by Fux, a wounded musketeer and spluttering drinkers in Biber’s Battalia, croaking frogs courting each other as portrayed in Telemann’s “The Frogs”.

A kindred spirit of B’Rock, Dmitry Sinkovsky is a multi-talented Russian violinist, highly acclaimed not just as an instrumentalist but also as a counter-tenor and conductor; indeed it is Sinkovsky who will direct this performance, playing his magnificent 1675 Francesco Ruggieri violin. Hailed by critics (“Virtuosity, finesse, expression, imagination, nothing is missing from Sinkovsky”, Le Monde) his many awards include a Diapason d’Or for his Vivaldi recording, and recognition at major competitions including the Leipzig Bach International Competition.

Youthful and fearless, B’Rock and Sinkovsky together bring boundless virtuosity and vivacious story-telling to this not to be missed early music performance.

PROGRAMME

Fux
Overture No 4 in D minor, K357

Biber
Battalia à 10 in D major, C61

Vivaldi
Concerto in F major, RV569

Telemann
Concerto in A major, TWV51:A4, “The Frogs”

Fux
Concerto “Le dolcezze, e l’amerezze della notte” in D major, E1

Vivaldi
Concerto “Per la solennità di San Lorenzo” in D major, RV562

Programme
Samson Young
Such Sweet Thunder (world première)
For Recorded Bell Sound, Narration & Orchestra
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2018 with sponsorship from CASH Music Fund

Pēteris Vasks
Concerto for Viola & String Orchestra (2014-2015) (Asian première)

Bartók
Concerto for Orchestra

“Maxim Rysanov is the kind of musician who can do the musical equivalent of reading from the phone book and making it exciting” (American Record Guide) . The Ukrainian-British violist has wowed the world with his unique artistry and charisma and is a regular guest of top international music institutions such as the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, Verbier, Salzburg and Edinburgh Festivals. A keen promoter of new music, he has developed a close working relationship with composers including Giya Kancheli, Krzysztof Penderecki and Pēteris Vasks, among others.

“Vasks’ concerto for viola and string orchestra, premiered by Maxim Rysanov for whom it was conceived, represented the composer’s characteristically direct, modal, style. Tension was built, broken and rebuilt, the effect serene, with the viola’s searing tone verging on the ecstatic.” The Guardian

Artist and composer Samson Young’s diverse works have been featured around the world at the most prestigious festivals and spaces including the Venice Biennale, documenta 14, Art Basel, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, Manchester International Festival and Japan Media Art Festival, winning him awards from the inaugural Bloomberg Emerging Artist Award, New York Society for New Music’s Brian M. Israel Prize to an Honorary Mention at the esteemed Prix Ars Electronica. Young’s project The Third Pixel was previously featured at the 2010 Hong Kong Arts Festival.

As the first winner of the BMW Art Journey Award, Young embarked on an ambitious project For Whom the Bell Tolls that took him through five continents, resulting in an archive of bell recordings, a series of bell sound sketches, bells and objects, all of which culminate in his new work for Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Such Sweet Thunder.

The Maciej Fortuna Special Quartet is led by one
of Poland’s most charismatic jazz artists. Having
performed for many years as a trio, the concept of
the band’s sound is grounded in the mainstream of
European improvised music, but at the same time adds
electronic components as a constant and integral part
of its musical foundation.
The Fortuna Special Quartet provides a contemporary
European perspective to a genre that lately has recently
become increasingly rigid and, therefore, has been in
danger of losing its contemporary relevance. Strong
rhythms, funky grooves and a wide range of electronic
references; all these elements are put into the service
of “good old” jazz, which deserves some help breaking
through into the modern world.

Portuguese fado meets jazz
“Vila Navio’s music has originality in mind and their quest for a different sound has been a successful one.” Songlines Magazine (UK)
Vila Navio creates traditional Portuguese music for modern times. Led by singer/ guitarist André Coelho Rodrigues, their repertoire embraces elements of fado, popular and classic compositions, linked to contemporary jazz and electronica. In the words of authoritative British world music publication, Songlines Magazine, “Vila Navio has originality in mind, and the quest for a different sound has been successful.” Their bold experimentation has won legions of fans worldwide. For this Hong Kong debut concert André Coelho Rodrigues is accompanied by his regular collaborators on trumpet, flugelhorn and Portuguese guitar.

The recordings of Wisława Szymborska reading her
own poems remain famous, especially in her native
Poland. But what happens when the melody of her
voice is treated literally – when music becomes strictly
determined by her words, and the resulting elements
combined into an interactive evening of poetry?
This approach focuses on elements hidden behind
the timbre of the poet’s voice, its intonation, and the
changing tempo and rhythm of recitation. The result is
a unique blend of music and poetry that highlights not
only Szymborska’s words, but also their melody. Maciej
Fortuna has created Fortuna Plays Szymborska for
everyone, but in particular young people, offering them
an opportunity to re-discover the poet’s works.
Archival audio and video footage and original cut-outs by
Wisława Szymborska feature in this project.

Setlist
Some Like Poetry
The Joy of Writing
The Onion
First Love
Cat in an Empty Apartment
Negative
Clouds
A Note
The Railroad Station
Assassins
Children of the Age
A Poem
Three Oddest Words

Concept
Fortuna Plays Szymborska offers a fresh perspective
on the poetry of Wisława Szymborska, a Nobel
Prize laureate, combined with audio footage (voice
recordings), trumpet, drums, and electronic sound
processing equipment. The key idea behind the project
is to create a communicative blend of poetry, music,
visual arts and video footage with a particular appeal
for young audiences.
The visuals are based on video recordings of Wisława
Szymborska reading out her works aloud. These
are accompanied by collages made by Szymborska,
less well-known in comparison to her poetry work,
which were incorporated into the visualisations after
being modified and transformed through animation.
Animated collages intertwine with scenes showing
the poet as well as auteur animations made by Paweł
Wypych in a motion design technique.
The music is the key part and the focus of the project,
ensuring the synchronicity and consistency of the
whole. This is why the choice of poems has been
limited to those with corresponding audio footage of
the poet reading her works. The melody of the voice
has been treated literally and linked directly to the
music and the leading sound of the trumpet that
emphasises the recited verses, which thus obtain the
form of recitatives.
Fortuna Plays Szymborska thus takes the form of an
interactive evening of poetry and a multimedia concert.
A double CD/DVD album Fortuna Plays Szymborska was
released in 2016 to accompany the 20th anniversary
of the Polish poet winning the Nobel Prize for
Literature; the same year also saw the publication of
never-previously-released love letters from Wisława
Szymborska to Polish novelist Kornel Filipowicz.
The Fortuna Plays Szymborska project was created in
collaboration with the Wisława Szymborska Foundation,
which provided access to the unique archives required
for creating the visuals as well as the acoustic parts of
the project.