Belgium’s leading chamber ensemble, Het Collectief, comes to Malta with a recital which takes the audience on a journey from 1938 to today, with music by Béla Bartók, Ruben Zahra and Olivier Messiaen.
Over the years, Het Collectief has gathered international acclaim for its refreshing interpretations of 20th-century chamber music.
For its Maltese public, the Brussels ensemble has selected two very special masterworks from that fascinating repertoire: Bartók’s Contrasts and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.
The Hungarian Bartók composed his Contrasts for a concert with two of his best friends: his compatriot and star violinist Joseph Szigeti and the American jazz clarinettist Benny Goodman. The result is an intriguing mix of Hungarian folklore and Dixieland jazz.
The programme is chiefly devoted to the Quartet for the End of Time.
The French composer Messiaen wrote his apocalyptic vision in 1941, when he was a war prisoner in the detention camp Stalag IV in Silesia.
Devastated by the horrors of World War II and inspired by the Apocalypse from the New Testament, Messiaen gave an overwhelming expression to his Catholic faith in this piece.
Using a number of ingenious composing techniques, he achieved a musical translation of the notion of eternity, with original palette of timbres and harmonies and with his self-created, rhythmical language which, in combination with the sometimes extremely slow tempi, manipulates the perception of time.
To round off the programme, Het Collectief will perform Pan the Goat-God, by Maltese composer Ruben Zahra. The music for this cycle, set in four movements, is driven by hard rhythmic patterns which support complex motives and intricate melodic lines. The composition is also characterised by aggressive contrasts within the same movement, which often surprise the listener as the music jolts forward in leaps and bounds.
Het Collectief was founded in 1998 in Brussels. It has created an intriguing and idiosyncratic sound, achieved by an unfamiliar mix of strings, wind instruments and piano. The group also creates a furore with daring crossovers between contemporary and traditional compositions and with adaptations of ancient music.
Het Collectief will be performing on Tuesday at 8pm at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta. There is a pre-concert talk for ticket holders. Tickets are available online, by calling 2124 6389, or by sending an e-mail to bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt.
www.teatrumanoel.com.mt