Solo Violin Recital: “Deep Time, Sense of Place”

Joshua Peckins, Violin

BACH - SOLO SONATA IN C MAJOR

PAGANINI - CAPRICE NO 20

MATTHEW BURNTNER - ELEGY FROM MUIR GLACIER

PAULA MATTHUSEN - LULLABY FOR DEAD HORSE BAY

HILDEGARD VON BINGEN - O VIS ETERNITATIS

"Deep Time, Sense of Place" tells a story of ecological change, human creativity, and the enduring artifacts of spirit and place that convey rich history and meaning to those who listen.

The music on this program - spanning nearly a millennium of composition - roughly tracks developments of the Muir Glacier in Alaska. It begins with the Medieval chants of Hildegard von Bingen, the earliest European female composer with surviving written music. The glacier was at its peak size during the "Little Ice Age," when Bach wrote fugues of unsurpassed invention and creativity. In the early 19th Century, Paganini emerged as the most famous violin virtuoso of all time as the glacier began its retreat. Finally, in present day, Muir Glacier has receded to a landlocked, terrestrial glacier, and has been captured in sound in Matthew Burtner's Elegy, which combines live violin performance with field recordings from Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve over the past decade. A parallel story, on a more human time scale, is portrayed in Paula Matthusen's "Lullaby for Dead Horse Bay," which blends a wandering violin soliloquy with sounds recorded through ebbing tides inside bottles on the historic New York bay of the same name.

An astonishing juxtaposition of change and loss on a geological timescale, with examples of fleeting human creation that have either endured or perished, "Deep Time, Sense of Place" raises questions about what is transient, our place in the grand scope of the natural world, and the importance of protecting beauty of both natural and human creation.

Joshua Peckins “Music Speaks” recitals take listeners on an exciting journey from past to present, featuring classics of the past and contemporary repertoire, with rich commentary and stories about the composers and music. The exact repertoire may be changed without notice for artistic reasons.

This concert is presented by and will take place at the Belmont Library located at 336 Concord Ave in Belmont, MA Please contact the library for registration information and other details before going to the event.