Claude Debussy: Trois chansons de Bilitis, L. 97
Dmitri Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, op. 100
Reynaldo Hahn: Venezia (selection)
Luciano Berio: Quattro canzoni popolari
Benjamin Britten: Folk Song Arrangements, Vol 2 (selection)
Manuel de Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas
This recital explores the fascinating interplay between inside and outside perspectives through song literature and folk arrangements that cross cultural boundaries.
The program presents works in which composers interpret other cultures – Debussy’s Trois chansons de Bilitis (1862–1918), referring to the lesbian poetry of ancient Greece; Shostakovich’s Spanish Songs, op. 100 (1906–1975); Hahn’s Venezia, a cycle in Venetian dialect by the French composer of Venezuelan origin (1874–1947); and Britten’s (1913–1976) arrangements of French folksongs – as well as pieces where composers transform their own cultural heritage, including Berio’s (1925–2003) modernist Italian Quattro canzoni popolari and de Falla’s (1876–1946) impressionistic Siete canciones populares españolas.
This colorful mosaic of musical perspectives, performed by mezzo-soprano Bella Adamova, raises questions of authenticity and cultural ownership while seeking to reveal the rich dialogue that emerges when artistic imagination transcends boundaries.
Text: Ondřej Pivoda
