CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS PROGRAM Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 7pm Zellerbach Hall The Silk Road Ensemble Yo-Yo Ma, Artistic Director Jeffrey Beecher double bass Mike Block cello Shanir Blumenkranz oud Nicholas Cords viola Jonathan Gandelsman violin Joseph Gramley percussion Colin Jacobsen violin Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh Yo-Yo Ma cello Gabriela Lena Frank (b. 1972) ¡Chayraq!: Rough Guide to a Modern Cristina Pato gaita (Galician bagpipes) Day Tawantinsuyu† Shane Shanahan percussion Mark Suter percussion Kojiro Umezaki shakuhachi Kazakh/Chinese traditional Yanzi (“Swallow Song”) (arr. Zhao Lin) Wu Man pipa Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960) Air to Air‡ PROGRAM Wah Habbibi Aiini Taqtiru Silk Road Suite K’in Sventa Ch’ul Me’tik Kwadalupe Tancas Serradas a Muru Persian traditional Ascending Bird (arr. Siamak Aghaei & Colin Jacobsen) Wu Man (b. 1963) Night Thoughts † Commissioned by the Silk Road Project. Joseph Gramley (b. 1970) Rionji Traditional Muiñeiras from Cancionero Musical de Galicia ‡ Commissioned by Carnegie Hall through The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the (arr. Cristina Pato) Silk Road Project. The world premiere was given at Carnegie Hall on September 16, 2006. Hyosung Corporation is a Lead Sponsor of the Silk Road Project. Rabih Abou-Khalil (b. 1957) Norma’s Secret† MetLife Foundation is the Official 2011 Tour Sponsor of the Silk Road Project. Giovanni Sollima (b. 1962) Taranta Project† This performance is made possible, in part, by Corporate Sponsor U.S. Bank and INTERMISSION Patron Sponsors Nadine Tang and Bruce Smith, and Barbara and Markus Trice. Cal Performances’ 2010–2011 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. 26 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 27 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES he historical silk road, a series of physical body in fire, and in this way achieving a tonight’s arrangement. A medley of two popu- than normal, and the score calls for the percus- Tland and sea trade routes that crisscrossed metaphorical spiritual transcendence. lar muiñeiras from different regions of Galicia, sionist to add vocalization and body rhythms to Eurasia, enabled the exchange of goods and in- The next piece, Night Thoughts, was inspired the piece starts with a traditional percussion call the instrumentation. novations from China to the Mediterranean Sea by a ninth-century Buddhist pipa tune and rep- that establishes the essential rhythmic pattern. Gabriela Lena Frank drew on the Peruvian for nearly 2,000 years, until the 14th century. resented for pipa virtuoso and composer Wu Illustrating the importance of this dance as a so- and Chinese influences of her richly mixed heri- Over the centuries, many important scien- Man a chance to rediscover the pipa’s native, cial occasion, shakuhachi, strings and gaita pro- tage and on her ethnomusicology research to tific and technological innovations migrated to regional language. She was particularly drawn gressively join voices, culminating in an all-play create ¡Chayraq!: Rough Guide to a Modern Day the West along the Silk Road, including gun- to its ancient tune scale, which is very different party that celebrates the joy of community. Tawantinsuyu. The fanciful title hints at the con- powder, the magnetic compass, the printing from today’s mostly pentatonic pipa music, and Lebanese-born composer Rabih Abou- tent of the piece. “Chayraq” is an Indian expres- press, silk, mathematics, ceramic and lacquer to the peaceful, meditative sound of the pipa in Khalil was classically trained on oud (Middle sion of excitement—“hooray!” Tawantinsuyu crafts. In this way, the Silk Road created an the low register. Eastern lute) as well as flute. His composi- was the Indian name given to the pre-Conquest intercontinental think tank of human ingenu- The title of the percussion trio that fol- tions seem to blend the musical traditions of Incan Empire. “Rough Guide” alludes to field ity. Interactions among cultural groups spread lows, Rionji, represents a fusion of two far-flung the Arabic world with jazz improvisation and recordings gathered in researching music from knowledge, religious beliefs, artistic techniques points on the globe that inspired composer and European classical techniques. But to Abou- a foreign culture, typically compilations of short and musical traditions, so much so that long af- percussionist Joseph Gramley: the city of Rio Khalil, “tradition itself is a chimera, since tracks of music caught on the fly at indigenous ter its decline, the Silk Road remains a powerful de Janeiro and the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto, today’s tradition was yesterday’s revolution. events such as festivals, religious ceremonies and metaphor for cultural exchange. Japan. The rock garden at Ryoanji, which also Naturally, being Lebanese, my musical back- harvest fiestas. These examples were instrumen- This historic trade network provides a inspired a composition by John Cage in the ground will always be part of my language, but tal in Frank’s own self-education as a composer, namesake-worthy metaphor for the Silk Road 1980s, famously displays a series of 15 stones. I am more concerned with the sensual than the when she was a student looking for musical clues Project’s vision of connecting artists and audi- But viewers can never see more than 14 at a stylistic expression of music.” Norma’s Secret was in her Latin American travels. In a similar spirit, ences around the world. Yo-Yo Ma has called time—a Zen reminder of our imperfect en- written as a love song, exploring the emotional she constructed this piece with more than a doz- these routes, which resulted in the first global lightenment. In making music of this concept, and sensual characteristics of a woman’s secrets. en short movements, which mix and match per- exchange of scientific and cultural traditions, Gramley reduced the 15 stones to 13 beats but Technically speaking, it was written in a style cussion, pipa, violin and cello, and which may the “Internet of antiquity.” followed the same principle: the players on the that has become typical for Abou-Khalil, with be played individually or, as in this evening’s Both historic and symbolic elements are piece begin together on the same note, which rapid rhythm changes and meandering melodic concert, as a full series. central to the work of the Silk Road Project, represents the hidden rock. The scraping sound modulations that spin off one another. Silk We travel next to rural China for Yanzi which takes inspiration from this age-old tradi- of bamboo reco-recos intrigued Gramley when Road Ensemble members, including arranger (“Swallow Song”), a well-known folk song, tion of learning from other cultures and disci- he studied samba music in Brazil. Other instru- Ljova, developed an interpretation for today’s Kazakh in origin, arranged by Chinese com- plines. The repertoire of the Silk Road Ensemble ments include the kanjira and the udu drum, performance that reflects the instrumentation poser Zhao Lin. In this traditional piece, the includes traditional music (both as an oral whose solos reveal small changes in pitch dur- and flavor of the Silk Road Ensemble. singer addresses a girl named Yanzi (Swallow), tradition—passed down from generation to ing short “hiccups” just before what would have Cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima, praising her bright eyes, graceful neck and long generation—and in melodies arranged by and been the 13th beat. In the second section, two born into a family of Sicilian musicians, reveals hair, and implores, “Please do not forget your for members of the Ensemble) as well as newly seven-beat cycles are followed by a three-beat his fascination with all styles of music by com- promise and change your heart; I am yours, and commissioned works, many of which combine silence. “The interruptions are key,” Gramley bining elements of classical, rock and jazz, as you are my swallow.” During recording sessions non-Western and Western instruments, creating explains. “Just as in that rock garden, what you well as ethnic musical traditions from Sicily and for Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon (Sony a unique genre that transcends customary musi- can’t see is as important as what you can.” from other Mediterranean lands, such as North Classical 2004), Zhao Lin, a former classmate of cal classification. To complete the Suite, Spanish-born com- Africa, Israel, the Middle East, the Balkan Wu Tong at the Central Conservatory of Music Tonight’s concert opens with a Silk Road poser and performer Cristina Pato created States, Turkey and Andalusia. Many of these in Beijing, was moved to arrange Yanzi for voice Suite featuring works developed by members Muiñeiras for the Ensemble. The muiñeira is the influences are evident in Taranta Project, com- and cello after hearing Wu Tong’s a cappella ren- of the Silk Road Ensemble and representing a traditional dance of Galicia in fast 6/8 tempo, missioned by the Silk Road Project for its 2008 dition. Tonight’s version is interpreted by shaku- broad swath of history and cultures. Santur played at parties and social gatherings; everyone workshop at Tanglewood Music Center. The hachi and cello. player Siamak Aghaei and violinist Colin is welcome to join in and dance. Traditionally dreamlike entryway to the six-movement work Completing tonight’s program is Air to Air Jacobsen arranged a traditional folk melody that practiced with gaita (Galician bagpipes) and is followed by sequences that alternately suggest by Osvaldo Golijov, developed in 2006 at a was inspired by mythology. Ascending Bird tells percussion, a dancer typically shares a move that feverish dances and reveal intricate interlocking workshop that challenged composers to write the popular legend of a bird attempting to fly is then learned and repeated by the rest of the rhythmic patterns. In an innovative duet, the for indigenous Silk Road instruments with to the sun. After two failed attempts, the bird dancers.