Raleigh Society Virtual Recital: Emily Porter (Flute) & Noah Jay (Piano)

This term, because of COVID restrictions, we are unable to hold our recital series in person, but (COVID permitting), on Wednesday lunchtimes during term, from 1.15pm, we will be Premiering a recital on the RaleighSociety YouTube channel! Join us at the following link at 1.15pm to watch the premiere, and say hello in the live chat, or watch again later at your leisure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5hbXkiodlc

This week’s recital features second-year music students Emily Porter (Murray Edwards) on flute, and Noah Jay (Queens’), on piano, in an exciting programme of 20th and 21st-Century music for flute.

Programme:

Katherine Hoover, Kokopeli

Hoover writes: ‘Kokopeli, the flute player, was a great mahu, or legendary hero of the Hopi, and of other Native Americans living in the Southwestern area of the United States. He is said to have led the migrations through the mountains and deserts, the sound of his flute echoing through the great canyons and cliffs. In this piece I have tried to capture some of this sense of spaciousness, and of the Hopi’s deep kinship with this land. This piece has also been influenced by Native American flute songs and sounds.’

Wil Offermans, Honami

Offermans explains: ‘In the Japanese language, many words are made by combining two characters. Honami is a word that combines the characters of ho and nami. Ho means ear (i.e. ear of corn) and nami means wave. Together they refer to the waving scenery one can see when the wind blows over a blooming rice field. Here, the wind is the cause, the rice field is the medium and the waving movement is the consequential result. In Honami, the flutist is supposed to use his or her breath in a similar way. The flutist’s inhalation and exhalation profiles the timing and sonority. For Honami, the breath is the cause, the printed music is the medium and the sound of the flute is the consequential result.’

Béla Bartók (arr. Paul Arma), Three movements from Suite Paysanne Hongroise for Flute and Piano: Rubato – Andante – Allegro (Vielles Danses)

The Suite Paysanne Hongroise is an arrangement for flute and piano based on Bartók’s 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs for piano. The arranger, Paul Arma (1905-1987), was a pianist and composer who studied piano at the Budapest Academy of Music with Bartók from 1920 to 1924.