Upstream – preserving the stream
From 14 November to 14 November Germany / Cologne
Artists
Pearl Huang – traverso, flute, alto flute
Melchior Kupke – harpsichord, piano
Programme
Works by Bach, Boismortier, Debussy and Rachmaninoff, amongst others, as well as a piece by the New Zealand composer Helen Fisher in the Māori tradition
What might a ‘Baroque person’ have felt upon hearing Johann Sebastian Bach’s music for the first time? Probably something that is not so easy to reconstruct. But Pearl Huang and Melchior Kupke want to try to do just that. They know that our brains think in multiple directions. The more layers and connections there are, the more unconventional the neural pathways that are created. That is why they place Bach’s music in ever-changing contexts: what happens when his Traverso Sonata in E minor follows directly on from the harrowing music of Alban Berg? And could Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise not embody the dead Bach, who can no longer speak? The preservation of a world worth living in and the emotional connection to our cultural heritage merge here in a unique way.
What might a ‘Baroque person’ have felt upon hearing Johann Sebastian Bach’s music for the first time? Probably something that is not so easy to reconstruct. But Pearl Huang and Melchior Kupke want to try to do just that. They know that our brains think in multiple directions. The more layers and connections there are, the more unconventional the neural pathways that are created. That is why they place Bach’s music in ever-changing contexts: what happens when his Traverso Sonata in E minor follows directly on from the harrowing music of Alban Berg? And could Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise not embody the dead Bach, who can no longer speak? The preservation of a world worth living in and the emotional connection to our cultural heritage merge here in a unique way.
