Tickets: https://www.konzerthaus.de/de/programm/zafraan-ensemble/11738

“Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” This quote, attributed to Chief Si’ahl, describes on a larger scale processes that can be seen both in the compositions and in the chamber music performance itself.

A work of art never comes into being without its background. In “Arras,” Keiko Devaux draws on sound influences that represent her ancestors’ professions: the sound of the wind sweeping across farm fields, the sound of a mechanical loom, and the musical traditions (French chansons and American-Japanese folk music) with which her family members expressed their identity.

The spinning of the threads of life, a recurring motif in Indo-European mythology, forms the basis of the composition in Eres Holz’s work “Kataklothes”: the figurations of the 10 instruments are woven into a progressive “chorale” that becomes increasingly complex and playful in its rhythm. Ajtony Csaba’s new work “Taajuu” (Haida for “wind”) broadens the focus to the visual components of ensemble playing: the interconnection of coordinative gestures and sound-producing movements forms the starting point for the jointly developed composition.

Program

Zafraan Ensemble

Liam Mallett (flute), Martin Posegga (saxophone), Jason Denner (clarinet), Stefan Siebert (bassoon), Tomás Medina (trumpet), Renata Bruggaier (horn), Till Künkler (trombone), Emmanuelle Bernard (1. violin), Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir (2. violin), Josa Gerhard (viola), Martin Smith (cello), Beltane Ruiz Molina (double bass), Anna Viechtl (harp), Daniel Eichholz (percussion), Clemens Hund-Göschel (piano)

Conductor: Miguel Perez Inesta

Funded by the Azrieli Foundation.

With the support of the representation of the government of Québec in Berlin.