Weaving a tapestry of music

Michelle Marr

In Costa Mesa tonight, at the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist

Church, the church’s 25-voice choir, several percussionists and the

Crown Trio will present a concert program of songs woven from many

musical traditions.

The artists have been defining and rehearsing the program, called

“A Global Tapestry, Music from and Inspired by Our World Heritage,”

since September.

Once a year, the church choir presents an extended music program

similar to this one. This year, choir director Adriana Lopez-Young

invited the Crown Trio’s violinist Mari Haig, cellist Karen

Linkletter and pianist Beth Nakao to share the program because of

their unique work adapting music, such as tangos and Celtic dance,

for the trio format.

“Piano trio music is traditionally a very classical, European,

traditional and staid form,” Nakao said, “but we have elaborated on

it by playing our own arrangements. So [for example], the tango we

will play is a cello piece, but we arranged it for cello, violin and

piano. The violin got some of the cello parts. We divvied up the

parts to make it a trio piece.”

The choir will open tonight’s program with two African pieces of

music accompanied by djembe drumming.

“The choir’s program will feature a lot of authentic percussion,”

Lopez-Young said. Instruments will include South Indian khol

mridangam drums, maracas for Latin American pieces and tambourine.

Songs from Swedish, Afghan, Russian Orthodox, Shoshone and Hindu

musical traditions will also be included in the choir’s segment of

the concert. Many songs, such as the Swedish “Ack Varmeland” and the

Israeli “Oseh Shalom,” will feature soloists. Others, like the Zulu

“Siph’ Amandla” will feature a quartet.

“There is a piece called “Solfeggio” by Arvo Part, an Estonian

composer who is living now,” Lopez-Young said. “He built this minimal

compositional style based on the notion that instead of complex

textures of music, a single note well played expresses the sacred.”

“So he takes the familiar 12-step scale, do re mi fa so, and he

builds up structure out of that scale that creates all these layers

of sound. This is an a capella piece that is really interesting.”

Another song that is a favorite with Lopez-Young is an Afghan folk

lullaby.

“I first heard it in the spring of 2002, and in terms of what was

happening in the world then, it was really resonant, and I think

[tonight] it will be very resonant, too, because of what is happening

in our world right now,” she said.

The Crown Trio will complete the program, starting with

“Libertango” by Astor Piazello followed by several medleys, one of

gypsy music, others featuring music from Ireland, Armenia, Japan,

China, and four pieces from “Holberg’s Time Op. 40” by Norwegian

composer Edvard Grieg.

Two of the concert’s songs, “Libertango” and “When A Gypsy Makes

His Violin Cry” are on the trio’s CD, “Colorwave” and they are

available for listening before the concert at

cdbaby.com/cd/crowntrio.

The choir and trio will conclude the concert together with an

arrangement of Robert Schumann’s “Ziguenerleben.”

“It’s a Western classical piece,” Lopez-Young said, “but Schumann,

a German composer intrigued by gypsy music, wrote this tale of the

gypsies, about them never being able to call anywhere their homeland.

It will be [performed by] the choir and the Crown Trio and the

soloists and tambourine, and Mari, who specializes in gypsy violin

music, will add her gypsy violin to the piece.”

* MICHELE MARR writes religion features.