Clarice Assad - Clash was Clarice's deeply personal and intensely passionate response to the tensions she has observed within the social fabric of our society, especially as exacerbated by incendiary politicians, climate change, mass migration and refugee issues. Clash is not program music and does not tell a specific story or illuminate a specific argument, but it does embody some of these same social struggles as expressed by the string quartet and bandoneón as these five instruments explore states of discord. Challenging as the work may sound at first, its beauty emerges as the stronger and unifying force, giving us hope for the future.

Takacs  Assad  Labro

7 Clash

Kaija Saariaho - Nocturne. Violinist Harumi Rhodes always loved the music of Kaija Saariaho and suggested recording her Nocturne for solo violin as a part of this project. Saariaho wrote Nocturne in 1994 in preparation for her violin concerto Graal théâtre. She dedicated Nocturne to Witold Lutosławski.

6 Nocturne

Clarice Assad - Constellation is a three-movement work for violin and piano that Clarice wrote for Harumi on violin and herself on piano. The work celebrates Clarice’s nuclear family of four. Clarice directs that the movements can be played in any order. In our case, Harumi and Clarice perform Celestial first, in which Clarice envisions Stella, her as-yet-unborn daughter. Estrellita (Little Star) comes next, a movement Clarice wrote as a children’s song for Antonia, Clarice’s older daughter, a little fireball of energy. Our performance ends with Solais (Sunshine) a movement that pays homage and celebrates Clarice’s partner, evoking a sense of eternal, lasting love. Thank you J and Helen Schlichting for kindly enabling Yarlung to commission this lovely family portrait.

5 Constellation No. 1

Milton Nascimento - Cravo e Canela (Clove and Cinnamon) was composed by the legendary Milton Nascimento, one of Brazil’s most celebrated songwriters. Ronaldo Bastos wrote the Portuguese lyrics and the two created a classic song that captures the essence of romance and the vivid colors of Brazil's cultural tapestry. Clarice’s arrangement and performance breathe fresh energy into Nascimento's song through her improvisation and innovative vocal techniques that push the boundaries of her beautiful voice.

4 Cravo e Canela

Julien Labro - Meditation No. 1
Julien had not initially intended to write a piece for himself and the quartet, but Takács wanted new music to fill at least half of the slated concerts. At their request, Julien shared some of his prior compositions for bandoneón and string quartet, and Julien had written Meditation No. 1 during the pandemic. After reading the score Harumi and Ed thought the contrasting nature of the work would fit in beautifully within the rest of the concert program. Ed emailed Julien “we all really like your Meditation piece. Beautiful!”

3 Meditation No. 1

Clarice Assad - Luminous, from Pendulum Suite
Luminous explodes with Clarice’s interpretation of the life-affirming power of Brazilian jazz. The percussive piano introduction launches the listener into the joyous syncopated rhythms and arching melodic lines associated with the genre. Luminous alternates duple and triplet sections in rondo form to drive the musical dialogue to a breathless and ecstatic conclusion, a celebration of life and music. Clarice, performing both voice and piano in this version, wrote Luminous as part of her Pendulum Suite.

2 Luminous, Pendulum Suite

Bryce Dessner - Circles
Bandoneón virtuoso Julien Labro had met Bryce Dessner several years earlier from a collaboration with Bryce and members of Eighth Blackbird on the movie score for The Two Popes. Julien knew Bryce was a successful American rock musician and guitarist based in Paris, but also recognized Dessner’s stature in the classical new music world and wanted very much to ask Bryce to write a piece for him and Takács. Julien hoped and anticipated that Bryce’s piece would explore a radically different musical language from that which Clarice would pursue in Clash. Circles, our opening track on the album, was Dessner’s fabulous result.

Takacs  Assad  Labro 

1 Circles

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