This Friday in Jordan Hall, A Far Cry is holding a gigantic birthday party for three amazing pieces that have just reached the half-century mark. And since all parties are better with friends, we asked the amazing artists at Urbanity Dance to join the celebration and collaborate with us again, in 1964!
Many of you recall our concert with Urbanity last year. It was a wonderful creative high point for both organizations, and there's a nice mini-documentary about it here:
"Chemistry" A Far Cry and Urbanity Dance from Urbanity Dance on Vimeo.
This time, we begin the concert with pure music. The first half of the program is a haunting reminder of the musical legacy on the other side of the Iron Curtain: an amazing, nearly unknown, symphony by Mieczysław Weinberg (you can read more about him here!) and a string orchestra version of Shostakovich's Tenth Quartet, that was actually dedicated to Weinberg. This is dark, tortured, but also transcendent and unforgettable music.
The second half, with Urbanity, features Terry Riley's freewheeling minimalist masterpiece In C—and the result is pure joy. Choreographer Betsi Graves has shared some notes about what to expect:
In choreographing In C, I decided to riff on Riley's themes of play and spontaneity. In the spirit of play, the dancers have a series of improv games folded into set phrases. The dancers listen for musical cues when they hear phrases become dominant, and at other times take cues off the Criers. The rehearsal process was collaborative: with wide-eyed curiosity we improvised dance games like flocking, moving sculptures, and even a human chess match. It becomes a kerfuffled maze of physical and audible games. When the players are highly trained dancers and musicians, the results are these beautiful, tragically fleeting moments that take your breath away and leave you craving the next encounter.
We can't wait to bring this amazing art to you. If you don't have tickets yet—now's the time! Last year, this show sold out!
For those of you who like a little extra challenge, we invite you to "dress for 1964"—there just might be a prize for the best costume of the night!
And for those of you who are not able to be there in person, remember: all our Jordan Hall concerts are LIVE-STREAMED from our website for $8 at 8 PM EST!
With love and music,
The Criers
PS - Check out this image of In C with the choreographic instructions!
