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Bernard Rands's Folk Songs and Three Pieces at Indiana University

Oct. 02, 2015

Bernard Rands's <em>Folk Songs</em> and <em>Three Pieces</em> at Indiana University

The Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music hosts Bernard Rands as composer-in-residence this month. As part of the residency, Rands's Folk Songs and Three Pieces for solo piano are featured in a performance by the school’s contemporary music ensemble on October 22. David Dzubay conducts the performance, which takes place at Auer Hall.

Both the Three Pieces and the Folk Songs are reflective pieces for Rands, covering the composer’s musical as well as geographical experiences. Three Pieces explores the legacy of the piano music of three of Rands’s favorite composers—Scriabin, Debussy and Ravel. The first piece, Caprice, presents a succession of four distinct musical ideas, frequently juxtaposed, reordered and elaborated. The central piece, Aubade, is in essence a condensed, harmonic reservoir of the two outer movements, while the final piece, Arabesque, is built upon a series of rotations of pitch successions each extending its register until the entire keyboard is engaged.

Rands considers his Folk Songs to be “semi-autobiographical” in that each song originates from countries that have inspired him throughout his compositional life. The work is a collection of nine songs, each in its original language from Bavaria, England, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, USA and Wales. 

Details on the performance can be found at indiana.edu.  

For more information on Bernard Rands, visit schott-music.com.

Bernard Rands
Folk Songs (2014)
for voice and eight instruments
fl.ob.cl-perc-hp-vn.va.vc
22’

Three Pieces (2010)
for solo piano
15'

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