Trinity - Boho Strings
Ann Geerts
On July 16th, 1945, the United States exploded the first ever atom bomb and thus ushered in the nuclear era. This was followed shortly after with the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing untold devastation and the start of the Cold War nuclear arms race. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist in charge of the Manhattan Project, code-named the very first atomic weapon detonation “Trinity”, after the poem by early 17th century poet and cleric
John Donne. Coincidentally the U.S. Army was using the same frequency as the nearby Voice of America radio station. During the countdown for the detonation, the radio broadcast encroached on the countdown, and this with Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. To commemorate this horrific event in world history, and draw attention to the ever present nuclear threat, Boho Strings will present a unique program built around Tchaikovsky’s beloved Serenade. Art songs and arias will interpolate each movement of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade. These songs will offer a window into the fear, helplessness and resignation felt by ordinary people towards this nuclear Damocles’ sword. Haunting video images will accompany the music.
A performance with purpose for a sustainable future! Led by David Ramael, Boho Strings performs a multi-faceted program of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for strings against a backdrop of nuclear threats.
Program
Tchaikovsky, Serenade for Strings -‘Pezzo in forma di sonatina: Andante non troppo’
Ravel, Un grand sommeil noir
Vivaldi, ‘Cum dederit’ from Nisi Dominus
Tchaikovsky, Serenade for Strings ‘Valse: Moderato - Tempo di valse’
Saint-Saëns, Danse Macabre (6’)
Franz Schubert, Der Tod und das Mädchen (3’)
Tchaikovsky, Serenade for Strings - ‘Élégie: Larghetto elegiaco’ (9’
Astor Piazzolla, Los pájaros perdidos (4’)
Mahler, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (7’)
Tchaikovsky, Serenade for Strings - ‘Finale (Tema russo): Andante - Allegro con spirito’ (9’)
Music : Boho Strings and conductor David Ramael
Solo : Allegra Giagu
video : Geert lenssens
