This July marks the premiere of Hans Abrahamsen's Two Inger Christensen Songs sung for the first time in English at Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, by American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker.
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence presents a special portrait concert with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra on July 19 dedicated to and conducted by renowned composer and conductor Sir George Benjamin. The concert highlights his artistic preferences and musical friendships. Celebrating Benjamin's esteemed friendship with Abrahamsen, the programme includes both Walden and Two Inger Christensen Songs with text by Danish poet Inger Christensen and newly translated by Jakob Holtze.
The concert marks the first premiere of a work for voice in English by Abrahamsen since Let Me Tell You in 2013.
In Two Inger Christensen Songs, Abrahamsen explores themes of timelessness and the complex relationship to nature, on one hand the deep connection and safety that nature inspires and, on the other, nature's destruction.
The music is rooted in the mathematical Fibonacci sequence, wherein each number is the sum of the two preceding ones - echoing the structure and complexity of the poems by acclaimed late Danish poet Inger Christensen. The result is a complex and captivating interplay between the timeless and the ever-changing, echoing the natural world's intricate patterns.
Performance Details
Sir George Benjamin/Jacquelyn Stucker/Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, France
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
