Camerata Pacifica to Perform World Premiere ‘The Consolation of Rain’ by David Bruce

Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016

From April 10-15, 2016, Camerata Pacifica will present the world premiere of “The Consolation of Rain” commissioned from David Bruce for Camerata Pacifica by Bob Klein and Lynne Cantlay.

The Consolation of Rain is a 20 minute work for oboe, cello, harp and percussion, and will be premiered by the Camerata Principal Artists Nicholas Daniel, oboe; Ani Aznavoorian, cello; Bridget Kibbey, harp; and Ji Hye Jung, percussion.

"We all take consolation from different things, and without wanting to be overly morbid, I would like to think that after I die, my loved ones could take consolation from the sense that I was quite literally all around them, in the air, water and earth as part of the natural cycle of things," said Bruce,

Among Bruce's inspirations is the poem "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep" by Mary Elizabeth Frye, from which the composer connects experiencing emotion and observing nature.

The poem reads, "I am a thousand winds that blow. / I am the diamond glints on snow. / I am the sunlight on ripened grain. / I am the gentle autumn rain."

Bruce's resulting work focuses on an element all to common to the Englishman: rain.

"Taking Debussy's method of portraying the sea in La Mer as something of a model, the piece is primarily an abstract musical construction, but one that constantly and variously evokes different aural images of rain, whether it be rippling, glistening, dripping, rumbling, swooshing or showering; gathering pace or subsiding; distantly echoing or vigorously present," he said. "But throughout, the impression is of rain not as dark and depressing, but as something positive, consoling, life-affirming and renewing the 'gentle autumn rain' mentioned in the Frye poem."

Performances will be held in Ventura at 3 p.m. Sunday April 10; San Marino at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12; Los Angeles at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 14; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, in Santa Barbara.

The concerts will also feature works by Nigel Osborne, Christopher Deane, Toku Takemitsu and Debussy. Adrian Spence, Melanie Lançon, Nicholas Daniel, Bridget Kibbey, Marcia Dickstein, Ani Aznavoorian, Ji Hye Jung, Lee Vinson, Egle Januleviciute and Caroline Bloom will also perform.

Update

Here is a recording from the concert:

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Camerata Pacifica to Perform World Premiere ‘The Consolation of Rain’ by David Bruce

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