The Italian Cultural Institute and the Antonine University present the concert “De la Nuit” by Alessandra Ammara (piano).
The program invites viewers to immerse themselves in the dreamlike and mysterious world of the early 20th century music, exploring the works of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Alexander Scriabin. Almost all of the proposed works take inspiration from literary sources, as in the case of Debussy’s Clair de lune, which will open the concert. It is the third piece in the “Suite Bergamasque,” whose inspiration comes from Paul Verlaine’s poem of the same name.
It is followed by Maurice Ravel’s Ondine, the first movement from his “Gaspard de la nuit” cycle. Ravel draws from a poem by Aloysius Bertrand to paint a musical portrait of a water nymph who attempts to seduce the listener, bringing him into her underwater realm through sparkling arpeggios and a constant melodic flow.
Another Debussy work, “La soirée dans Grenade,” brings to mind the essence of Spain’s evenings, with haunting habanera rhythms and melodies reminiscent of flamenco; it will be followed by two preludes, “La Terrasse des audiences du clair de lune” and “La sérénade interrompue.”
We will also listen to Ravel’s “Le Gibet,” the second movement of “Gaspard de la nuit,” which portrays a moment of macabre contemplation in front of a hanged body, with an eerie ostinato evoking the tinkling of a distant bell, and the third movement, “Scarbo,” a piece of unbridled virtuosity describing a devilish and capricious elf.
Debussy then takes us back to more contemplative atmospheres with “Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut,” the second piece from “Images”, book II, where the delicate harmony and the transparent texture both create an ethereal vision of ancient ruins bathed by the moonlight.
The concert ends with Alexander Scriabin’s grandiose “Sonata Op. 53,” built with a sonic architecture that explores new dimensions of emotional and psychological expression, and culminates in an explosive finale.
Program
DE LA NUIT
C. Debussy
Clair de lune
M. Ravel
Ondine
C. Debussy
La soirée dans Grénade
La Terrasse des audiences du clair de lune
La sérénade interrompue
M. Ravel
Le Gibet
Scarbo
C. Debussy
Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut
A. Scriabine
Sonata op. 53