In Memories of Trees, the Ragazze Quartet gives trees a musical voice. Memories of trees fill the space in a magical world of music, light, and projections. The four members of the Ragazze Quartet play string instruments made by various violin makers. Some of the instruments are centuries old, while others were built in this century. But beyond their age, is there more to discover when we study the sometimes rare types of wood used in the instruments?
The Ragazzes delved into the origins of their string instruments and became fascinated by the treasure trove of memories stored in the tree rings of the wood. Tree rings are like historical documents: they tell us more about the tree’s location, the climate, the influences of flora, humans, and so on. This information can sometimes go back hundreds or even thousands of years. A fascination with the role of trees as silent witnesses of history and guardians of our ecosystem was born.
This fascination takes shape in Memories of Trees, a full-length, visually immersive concert for string quartet and electronics, centered on the question: how do trees remember humans and their disruptive impact on the ecosystem? Before the performance, artistic director Yoram Ish-Hurwitz, together with curators Strijbos & Van Rijswijk, will open the first site-specific music festival and symposium.
Programme
Selections from commissioned compositions by Kate Moore, and works by Nathalie Flintrop, Garth Knox, Kaija Saariaho, and Mees Vervuurt.
Uitvoerenden
- Ragazze Quartet More information ragazzequartet.nl
Addictional Credits
Direction – Mees Vervuurt
Set and Video Projections – Jurjen Alkema
Costumes – Bart Hess
Sound Design – Koen Keevel / Harry Zwerver
Production – Barbara Reijs
This year, we are kicking off the festival with not one, but two concerts: at the start of the evening, Aleksey Igudesman & Lucy Landymore perform Chill & Thrill at the FB Oranjewoud Pavilion. Later in the evening, the Ragazze Quartet opens the festival-within-the-festival Site-Specific Music Festival with their site-specific performance Memories of Trees.
Want to attend both opening concerts? You can do so at a discounted price!
