It was nice to hear a different harp+ensemble piece (Caplet's Conte Fantastique) at the Concours Cité des Arts. The choice of the final round concerto is always tricky, as on the one hand you want to set something candidates will then be able to use often; on the other, you want to spare the jury from death by Debussy, and even broaden everyone's artistic horizons.
One aspect of the harp repertoire that can happily welcome an extension is harp and viola: apart from the famous Bax sonata, there is not much original music (much of what there is is helpfully documented by Clinton Nieweg here). Colorado harpist Ann Marie Liss is working on this, with Colorado Symphony viola principal Basil Vendryes - together, they are Duo Esprit.
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© 2009 Kellie Travers
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Ann Marie and Basil began working together out of mutual admiration for each other's playing, and a desire to make their own recording of Bax's Fantasy-Sonata. One piece, however, does not a concert duo make, and they soon busily set about transcribing existing and commissioning new music for the combination. These transcriptions include Chopin Nocturnes, viola works by Bridge, the third Liszt Liebestraum, Gerschwin's Prelude No.2 (in its original key, "so the pedals are insane", as Ann Marie says), and an ambitious new duo version of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Suite for Viola and Orchestra.
Alongside this, the duo has already commissioned a substantial amount of entirely new pieces. These include music by Justin Taylor, David Tcimpidis (distinguished professor at Mannes School of Music, NY), Christopher Malloy, Andrea Ferrante, Riccardo Iznaola (Composer, concert guitar and recording artist, orginally from Cuba), and Chason Goldfinger. Basil and Ann Marie are also in talks with grammy-nominated composer Robert Paterson who wants to write for them, as well as film composer Robert Litton.
"We also just got the fresh-off-the-press notes this week from The Playground Ensemble director, Conrad Kehn, to be premiered in Feb 2012, and we're waiting for the final version of a piece from a Texan astrophysicist composer working in Chile, Martin Gaskell", Ann Marie reports. "It's funny how quickly our vision has moved away from "just" recording the Bax and playing a few local recitals to being asked to travel the country now. I think some people might be suspicious of us becoming a strictly contemporary music ensemble because of the commissioning aspect, but it's been interesting to hear how non-modern some of the works sound so far. Every new piece is an adventure!"
If you're interested in discovering this repertoire, Ann Marie and Basil hope to make a recording soon. Meanwhile, keep an eye on Duo Esprit's concert schedule - or if you run a concert season, invite them to perform, because substantial recordings don't get paid for by the substantial-recording fairy.
